Bottom line
- Total investment $667K – $1.1M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 63 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -14.2% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
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 Blaze Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
22%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Blaze Pizza units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
42.2%
5.81× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.05×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$3.1M
on $11.5M purchase
Total debt
$8.5M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual pizzerias where customers build personalized pizzas from a menu of fresh toppings, which are then fired in a 900°F oven. Day-to-day operations involve managing assembly-line pizza production, coordinating kitchen and counter staff, inventory management of fresh ingredients, and customer service across lunch and dinner dayparts.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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
Blaze Pizza presents elevated risk due to contracting unit economics, undisclosed profitability metrics, consumer litigation history, and high capital requirements in a declining system.
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 10.2% YoY (265 units) — indicates systemic challenges or market saturation
- 02MEDNo disclosed net income data despite $1.28M avg revenue — opacity raises profitability concerns
- 03HIGHLitigation history (Zebrasky 2019-2020) involving consumer protection and gift card mishandling — suggests operational/compliance issues
- 04MINORHigh initial investment range ($666,900–$1,143,000) with 10-year commitment creates significant capital lock-up
- 05MINOR5% royalty on gross sales (not net) — franchisees pay even during unprofitable months
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
87 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Blaze Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF