Sweet Charlie's franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Sweet Charlie's franchise takes $99,800 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $30,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Sweet Charlie's franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $30,000 | $30,000 | $30,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $99,800 | $99,800 | $99,800 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $99,800 | $99,800 | $99,800 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Sweet Charlie's's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Sweet Charlie's cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Sweet Charlie's's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Sweet Charlie's's disclosed cost sits against the Food & Beverage category:
- Minimum startup cost of $99,800 — about 65% below the Food & Beverage median of $282,500.
- Initial franchise fee of $30,000 — about in line with the Food & Beverage median of $35,000.
Category medians are computed from the Food & Beverage brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Food & Beverage franchises
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How Sweet Charlie's's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2017–2017: began the window at 0 units; 3 units opened, 0 closed, ending at 3 units.
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Sweet Charlie's or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Sweet Charlie's for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Sweet Charlie's is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Sweet Charlie's grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Sweet Charlie's can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Sweet Charlie's franchise
Sweet Charlie's is a food & beverage franchisor with 3 units at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2017 and 2017, it began the window at 0 units; its filings record 3 unit openings and 0 closures, ending at 3 units. Its parent company is Sweet Charlie's Franchising, LLC.
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
You will establish and operate a retail ice cream dessert shop offering fresh, unique, gourmet made-to-order ice cream (dairy and non-dairy) and frozen yogurt products and other goods, sweets and toppings, which may consist of donuts (including the signature “Tall Charlie”), cookies, chocolate, marshmallows, fruit and sauces, together with coffee, other hot and cold beverages and other food items and products compatible with the concept.
Sweet Charlie's franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Sweet Charlie's franchise cost?
- $99,800 all-in to open, per Sweet Charlie's's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Sweet Charlie's units are there?
- 3 units at the end of 2017 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).