Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Bellacino's Pizza & Grinders is a quick-service franchise serving pizza and its signature oven-baked grinder sandwiches. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and dine-in, carryout, and delivery.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders franchise requires a total initial investment of $311K – $477K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $311K – $477K
- 51st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 46
- 64th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $311K – $477K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSFY2024 audited total operating revenue: franchise fees $11,370 + royalties $857,825 + franchise advertising contributions $368,623 + supplier/vendor rebates $337,503. Rebates represent ~21.42% of total revenue (Item 8).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 60/100 (higher is better).
- DATANo Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Bellacino's, Inc.
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- President
- Dan Warnaar
- CEO experience
- 31 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 10096 Shaver Road, Portage, MI 49024
- Auditor
- Blystone & Bailey, CPAs, PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.6M
- vs $1.6M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Dan Warnaar
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 1993
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 12
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 40% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Marketing - store openingnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Travel and Expenses for You and Your Manager During Trainingnot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Travel for corporate training team | $2K | $5K | |
| Architectural & Design services | $7K | $10K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $135K | $210K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $90K | $145K | |
| Point of Sale/Computer System | $4K | $6K | |
| Security Deposit/Rent | $10K | $14K | |
| Opening Inventory and Suppliesnot refundable | $10K | $16K | |
| Insurance (Construction) | $750 | $2K | |
| Insurance (Business Operations) | $4K | $7K | |
| Miscellaneous Pre-Opening and Organization Costs | $4K | $9K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months | $5K | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $311K | $477K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $311K – $477K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $6K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $550 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $10K – $16K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
30%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
FY2024 audited total operating revenue: franchise fees $11,370 + royalties $857,825 + franchise advertising contributions $368,623 + supplier/vendor rebates $337,503. Rebates represent ~21.42% of total revenue (Item 8).
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
System contracting at -2.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 46
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 10.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -2.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -2.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 5
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 4.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $295K
- Median loan
- $295K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (1 loan) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Bellacino's presents moderate-to-cautious risk: minimal unit growth, non-transparent financial performance, and a high investment ceiling with unvalidated profit potential in a mature pizza/grinders category.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Blystone & Bailey, CPAs, PC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 60 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — impossible to assess ROI or validate 5% royalty burden
- 02MINORStagnant unit growth of only 2.2% YoY suggests mature/declining system with low franchisee recruitment success
- 03MEDHigh initial investment ($311k–$477k) with no disclosed average net income creates return visibility gap
- 04MINORSmall unit base of 46 locations limits economies of scale for food supply, marketing, and operational support
- 05MINOR10-year term is long commitment with minimal growth trajectory and no profitability benchmarks provided
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 5 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Michigan |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MI |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 125 hrs
- Training location
- Certified/approved franchise unit (pre-training) and your unit's location (balance)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee (primary), with franchisor guidance and approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Bellacino’s approved cloud-based POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Bellacino’s approved cloud-based POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
28 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders franchise?
The total investment to open a Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders franchise ranges from $311K – $477K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders franchise owners earn?
Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders has 46 total units in the United States, including 46 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 60 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Bellacino’s Pizza & Grinders, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.