16 Handles
Dining · 41+ locations · NY, NJ, CT, FL, TX, SC, AZ, VA; CA, GA, RI in development
16 Handles was bought from its founder by its own largest franchisee: about as grassroots as chain succession gets. Now it's franchising coast to coast, with YouTuber Danny Duncan riding shotgun.
The Big Picture
No private equity and no venture capital: a franchisee who ran five Manhattan stores bought the whole brand in 2022 with savings and an SBA loan. What that owner is building is a coast-to-coast franchise push, with 25 new deals signed in the first half of 2026, where pay and conditions are set shop by shop by dozens of franchisees and no system-wide standards are published.
The Dirty Details
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Company data last updated September 2026
How does one person build and research all this? They don't: here's how it actually works. Verdicts are our opinions, based on the public sources cited above as of September 2026. Spotted something off? or learn more.