What should prospective franchisees of Potbelly Sandwich Works be advised regarding the financial figures?
Potbelly_Sandwich_Works Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ices to a franchisee likely will affect operations.
Some Potbelly Shops have earned this amount. Your individual results may differ. There is no assurance that you will earn as much.
Written substantiation of all financial performance information presented in this financial performance representation will be made available to you upon reasonable request. This financial performance representation was prepared without an audit. Prospective franchisees or sellers of franchises should be advised that no certified public accountant has audited these figures or expressed his/her opinion with regard to their contents or form.
As of the end of Period 12 in 2024 (ending on December 29, 2024), we had 96 franchised Potbelly Shops open, which includes 8 franchised Potbelly Shops operated from Non-Traditional Venues and 1 Potbelly Shop that began the year as an affiliate-owned Potbelly Shop location but was refranchised during 2024. Of the 96 franchised Potbelly Shops, 78 were open for the entire 12-period timeframe (12 full periods) beginning with fiscal Period 1 in 2024 (beginning on January 1, 2024) through fiscal Period 12 in 2024 (ending on December 29, 2024). 18 franchised Potbelly Shops were not open for the entire 2024 12-period timeframe because they opened during the fiscal year. Two franchised Potbelly Shops closed during the 12-period timeframe in 2024.
This financial performance representation excludes the results of 18 franchised Potbelly Shops that were not open for the entire 12-period timeframe in 2024. Financial information from 5 franchised Potbelly Shops operated at Non-Traditional Venues during the entire 12-period timeframe in 2024 is shown separately because, given their setting, their results sometimes are atypical compared with traditional location results. Non-Traditional Venues would include Potbelly Shops operated at airports, military bases, or as catering kitchens or ghost kitchens.
The franchisee and affiliate-owned Potbelly Shop sales performance below does not reflect the costs of sales, operating expenses, or other costs or expenses that you must deduct from the unit volume figures to obtain your net income or profit. You should conduct an independent investigation of the costs and expenses you will incur in operating your Shop. Franchisees or former franchisees, listed in the Franchise Disclosure Document, may be one source of this information.
Source: Item 19 — FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPRESENTATIONS (FDD pages 66–70)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Potbelly Sandwich Works' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, prospective franchisees should be aware of several key points regarding the financial performance representations provided. The FDD permits Potbelly Sandwich Works to include information about the actual or potential financial performance of its franchised and affiliate-owned outlets if there is a reasonable basis for the information. However, the financial performance information may differ from Item 19 only if Potbelly Sandwich Works provides the actual records of an existing outlet being considered for purchase, or supplements the information in Item 19 with details about possible performance at a particular location or under specific circumstances.
It is important to note that the franchisee and affiliate-owned Potbelly Shop sales performance does not reflect the costs of sales, operating expenses, or other costs that must be deducted to obtain net income or profit. Prospective franchisees should conduct an independent investigation of the costs and expenses they will incur while operating their Potbelly Sandwich Works shop. Franchisees or former franchisees, listed in the Franchise Disclosure Document, may be one source of this information.
Furthermore, the FDD advises that some Potbelly Sandwich Works shops have earned a particular amount, but individual results may differ, and there is no assurance of earning as much. The financial performance representation was prepared without an audit, and prospective franchisees should be advised that no certified public accountant has audited these figures or expressed an opinion on them. If a prospective franchisee receives any other financial performance information or projections of future income, they should report it to Potbelly Sandwich Works' management, the Federal Trade Commission, and the appropriate state regulatory agencies.