Cicis PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cicis Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $242K – $1.0M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.4M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 24.1% charge-off rate across 438 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $242K – $1.0M
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- 15th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 270
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 24.1%
- 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
24.1% of SBA loans charged off across 438 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 265 to 251 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
25% cash-on-cash return (based on Controllable Profit). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $242K – $1.0M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.4M/year (median $1.4M), with an estimated 25% cash-on-cash return (based on Controllable Profit).
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 97/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 24.1% across 438 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- On Smile LLC
- Parent company
- Smiley Slice, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Sunil D. Dharod Revocable Trust
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Sunil Dharod
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 13355 Noel Road, Suite 1645, Dallas, TX 75240
- Auditor
- RSM US LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $41.4M
- vs $42.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- JMC Restaurant Distribution
- Yes Caps
- CiCi Services
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Cicis Pizza franchisees operate casual dining establishments featuring all-you-can-eat pizza buffets (and salad/dessert bars) for dine-in service, or fast-casual 'To Go' pickup/delivery models. Daily operations include managing kitchen pizza production, buffet line service, inventory management, labor scheduling, and customer service for a high-volume, lower-margin dining format.
- CEO
- Sunil Dharod
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 22
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 25 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Buffet Restaurant)not refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Buffet Restaurant) | $325K | $349K | |
| Equipment and Supplies for Game Room (Buffet Restaurant) | $80K | $250K | |
| Impact Fees (Buffet Restaurant) | $0 | $20K | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixtures (Buffet Restaurant) | $164K | $217K | |
| Signage and Graphics (Buffet Restaurant) | $11K | $20K | |
| Insurance (Buffet Restaurant) | $500 | $2K | |
| Business Licenses (Buffet Restaurant) | $1K | $4K | |
| Opening Inventory/Supplies (Buffet Restaurant) | $28K | $34K | |
| Promotional Expenses (Buffet Restaurant) | $10K | $15K | |
| Training Costs (Buffet Restaurant) | $11K | $36K | |
| Deposits and other Pre-Opening Costs (Buffet Restaurant) | $9K | $17K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months (Buffet Restaurant) | $25K | $45K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (To Go Restaurant)not refundable | $15K | $15K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (To Go Restaurant) | $77K | $184K | |
| Impact Fees (To Go Restaurant) | $0 | $5K | |
| Equipment, Furniture and Fixtures (To Go Restaurant) | $88K | $114K | |
| Signage and Graphics (To Go Restaurant) | $5K | $10K | |
| Insurance (To Go Restaurant) | $375 | $2K | |
| Business Licenses (To Go Restaurant) | $1K | $3K | |
| Total initial investment | $937K | $1.5M |
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
$112K
8.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
17%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $242K – $1.0M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $45K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.4M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.4M
- Avg controllable profit
- $159K
- Reported as Controllable Profit in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 24.8%
- Based on Controllable Profit / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Historical Results
- Sample size
- 240 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $659K→$3.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Cicis Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 270
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 9
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.3%
- Company-owned
- 19
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 11.8%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -3.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -5.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 11
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 9
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 7
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 66.7%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 438
- Loan volume
- $131.8M
- Median loan
- $237K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 24.1%
- 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)
- 75.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 85
- Defaults
- 97
Vintage analysis
Cicis Pizza charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
A 24.1% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit count, multiple active litigations, weak profitability margins, and absence of financial disclosures create a HIGH RISK profile unsuitable for most franchisees.
Litigation (Item 3)
11 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas (Dallas), Case No. 21-30146-sgj11. On January 25, 2021, current and former affiliates filed voluntary Chapter 11 petitions: Cici's Holdings, Inc., Awesome Acquisition Company, CAC, CiCi Enterprises, CiCi GP LLC, CiCi Services, JMC GP LLC, JMC Restaurant Distribution LP, and Pizza Parent LLC. Plan of Reorganization approved March 3, 2021. CiCi Enterprises emerged March 10, 2021. Most cases closed July 2, 2021; Pizza Parent LLC case closed August 30, 2024.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · RSM US LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 97 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSystem contracted 3.8% YoY (270 units) indicating declining franchise health and potential unit closures
- 02HIGHMultiple active litigations including co-ownership disputes (Gala/Dharod), franchisee payment recovery suits (Bixby, Bankole), and post-termination enforcement actions suggesting franchisor-franchisee conflict and collection issues
- 03MINORNet income of $158,533 on $1.4M revenue (11.3% margin) is modest for pizza/buffet concept with high operational complexity and labor costs
- 04MINORWide investment range ($242K-$1M+) with unclear variables; high end represents 4x low end, suggesting inconsistent unit economics or location-dependent performance
- 05MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed, preventing validation of stated average revenue figures or profitability benchmarks
- 06HIGHLitigation pattern reveals systemic issues: co-ownership conflicts suggest internal franchisor instability, while franchisee payment suits indicate cash flow problems across system
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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Geographic Area |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 3 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
11 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 23 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 277 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 10 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Cicis Approved POS System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Cicis Approved POS System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cicis Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cicis Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Cicis Pizza franchise ranges from $242K – $1.0M, 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 Cicis Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cicis Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.4M. The median is $1.4M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Cicis Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Cicis Pizza has a charge-off rate of 24.1% across 438 loans, meaning 24.1% 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 Cicis Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cicis Pizza has 270 total units in the United States, including 265 franchised units and 19 company-owned units.
Is Cicis Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cicis Pizza as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 97 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.