Blaze PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Blaze Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $667K – $1.1M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 49 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $667K – $1.1M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 265
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Only 0.0% of 49 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
The system contracted 10% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $667K – $1.1M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 41/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 49 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 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
- Legal entity
- Blaze Pizza, LLC
- Parent company
- Blaze Pizza Holdings, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Brentwood Associates (BA V, BA VI, BA VI-A)
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 2859 Paces Ferry Rd. SE, Suite 350, Atlanta, GA 30339
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $26.4M
- vs $23.6M prior year
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.
- CEO
- Beto Guajardo
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 39
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Architect / Engineer | $13K | $28K | |
| Permits and Liquor Licensing | $5K | $25K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $300K | $500K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment and Decor | $225K | $325K | |
| Signage and Graphics | $20K | $40K | |
| Grand Opening Kit, Menu Boards | $5K | $6K | |
| Computer/Information Systems | $3K | $15K | |
| Uniforms, Initial Inventory and Smallware | $24K | $42K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising Program | $10K | $30K | |
| Grand Opening Free Pizzas | $0 | $6K | |
| Insurance Deposits | $500 | $5K | |
| First Month's Rent / Security Deposit | $3K | $24K | |
| Initial Training Expenses | $4K | $9K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $20K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $667K | $1.1M |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$141K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
15%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $667K – $1.1M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 238 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Quartile band
- $814K→$1.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 5 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Blaze Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 265
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 35
- Turnover rate
- 13.2%
- Company-owned
- 11
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 96%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -10.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -14.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 29
- Transfer rate
- 10.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 89.8%
- Units that stayed open
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 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 49
- Loan volume
- $35.4M
- Median loan
- $650K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 22
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Blaze Pizza charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Blaze Pizza's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 14 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 12-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 49 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
Zebrasky v. Blaze Pizza, LLC class action settled. Plaintiff alleged violations of California Gift Card Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Laws, and False Advertising Laws regarding redemption of gift cards under $10. Franchisor settled for $1,500 to plaintiff plus $67,000 attorney fees, issuance of up to 3,143 e-gift cards valued at $10 to California residents, employee training, and implementation of procedures for cash redemption of gift cards under $10. Settlement approved January 17, 2020; final payments made February 7, 2020.
Largest disclosed settlement: $68,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 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
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Pasadena, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Zebrasky v. Blaze Pizza, LLC class action settled. Plaintiff alleged violations of California Gift Card Law, Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Unfair Competition Laws, and False Advertising Laws regarding redemption of gift cards under $10. Franchisor settled for $1,500 to plaintiff plus $67,000 attorney fees, issuance of up to 3,143 e-gift cards valued at $10 to California residents, employee training, and implementation of procedures for cash redemption of gift cards under $10. Settlement approved January 17, 2020; final payments made February 7, 2020.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 5 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 275 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
87 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Blaze Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Blaze Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Blaze Pizza franchise ranges from $667K – $1.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Blaze Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Blaze Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Blaze Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Blaze Pizza has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 49 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Blaze Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Blaze Pizza has 265 total units in the United States, including 254 franchised units and 11 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Blaze Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Blaze Pizza as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 41 out of 100, 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.
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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.