Bottom line
- Total investment $189K – $738K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 24.2% CAGR over 3 years with 53 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Amato's unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
23%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Amato's franchisees operate Italian casual dining or quick-service restaurants (specific format not detailed in disclosure), managing front-of-house and kitchen operations, inventory, staffing, and customer service. Daily responsibilities include food preparation, order fulfillment, point-of-sale management, and local marketing to drive traffic and sales.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 31 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Amato's presents CAUTION-level risk due to absent financial disclosures, unprotected territories, unclear going concern status, and wide cost variance that obscures true profitability potential.
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — impossible to validate ROI claims or break-even timelines
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk; multiple franchisees could cannibalize same market
- 03MINORWide investment range ($189K–$738K) suggests inconsistent unit economics or undefined startup costs
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability or debt burden at corporate level
- 05MINOR13.9% YoY growth is modest for a growing franchise; does not offset lack of financial transparency
- 06MINORShort 5-year term limits franchisee upside and creates uncertainty for multi-year payback models
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
37 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Amato's · FDD (2025) PDF