Franchise Facts Report → brands → SM
SM franchise — is it worth it?
Risk level — in the report
SM Franchise, Inc.
Unlock what the free page above only hints at:
- Risk & red-flag breakdown — what the missing earnings, fees and churn imply.
- How it compares — every number ranked against quick-service restaurant peers (median & quartile).
- Litigation detail — each case, franchisee vs. corporate, with summaries.
- Outlet churn & the questions to ask — closures, terminations, transfers, and what to put to the franchisor.
Figures above are as disclosed in SM's most recent FDD (registered 2024). Source: California Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation — Franchise Registration · filing app-31668. The risk level, the Item 19 figures, how it compares to peers, and the litigation & churn detail are in the full report.
SM franchise profit — what the FDD discloses
Plainly: SM does not disclose franchise profit or revenue. Its most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-backed earnings figure for SM — any number quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure. The absence is itself worth weighing (many quick-service restaurant franchisors do disclose), and the full report reads the risk signals SM's FDD does contain — fees, litigation, and outlet churn — against peers. For brands that put earnings on paper, see Fast food & quick-service restaurant franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings.
SM lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
SM's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.
SM closures & failure rate
Before you sign, SM will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what SM's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a quick-service restaurant of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. SM's outlet tables are read directly from the FDD in the full report. The actual closure and termination counts, and how SM's churn ranks against quick-service restaurant peers, are in the full report.
The risk & red-flag breakdown, every figure ranked against quick-service restaurant peers, litigation and churn detail — emailed as a PDF.
Who owns SM?
SM's franchise is offered by SM Franchise, Inc. — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2024), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at CA DFPI; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it.
Quick-service restaurant franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing SM is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
SM franchise — frequently asked
Who owns SM — who is the franchisor?
SM's most recently filed FDD (2024) names SM Franchise, Inc. as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a SM franchise cost?
SM's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $418,644 – $1,458,700. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. The full report breaks down every fee line and benchmarks it against quick-service restaurant peers.
How much profit does a SM franchise make?
SM makes no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-disclosed revenue or profit figure for SM at all — and profit would never be disclosed even where earnings are, because it depends on your rent, labour and how you operate. Any profit figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
Does SM disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
No — SM's most recent FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. Its absence is worth weighing; the report focuses on the verifiable risk signals instead.
Are there lawsuits against SM?
No — SM's most recently filed FDD (2024) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is SM a good franchise to buy?
That comes down to how SM's investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against quick-service restaurant peers — which is exactly what the full report answers. For $99 you get the risk level and what's driving it, the actual Item 19 earnings (absent from this FDD), where every figure ranks against peers, and the specific questions to ask the franchisor before you sign.
Everything the sections above point to, in one place: SM's risk level and what's driving it, what the missing Item 19 earnings imply, every figure ranked against quick-service restaurant peers, and the litigation & churn detail — with the questions to put to the franchisor before you sign.
Get a free email when something changes on SM or quick-service restaurant: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same registries every report is built on.