Cottage Inn PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cottage Inn Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $216K – $840K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $876K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $216K – $840K
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $876K
- 29th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 63
- 66th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 14.3%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
Bottom line
- Total investment $216K – $840K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $876K/year (median $788K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 19/100.
- System growing at 22.2% CAGR over 3 years with 63 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Cottage Inn Franchisor, LLC
- Predecessor
- CICD
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and Chief Financial Officer
- Christina Narra
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 4390 Concourse Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
- Auditor
- Lotito & Lazzara, P.C.
- Audited financials
Affiliated brands
- CI
- Marketing
- Commissary
- Development
- Delco
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate neighborhood-style pizza restaurants, managing dine-in, carryout, and delivery operations. Day-to-day duties include food preparation, staff management, inventory control, and local marketing. The model targets suburban and small-market communities with a casual dining or quick-service hybrid approach.
- CEO
- Christina Narra
- Headquarters
- MI
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 10 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Training Expenses | $5K | $15K | |
| Opening Inventory and Suppliesnot refundable | $15K | $25K | |
| Equipment | $75K | $175K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $30K | $150K | |
| Signage | $10K | $30K | |
| Opening Advertising and Promotionnot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Prepaid Expenses | $5K | $15K | |
| Three Months' Rent | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months | $36K | $45K | |
| Total initial investment | $216K | $500K |
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
$114K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
19%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $216K – $840K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $36K – $90K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $876K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $788K
- Item 19 type
- Averages and Medians
- Sample size
- 50 units
- vs category median 28
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Cottage Inn Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 63
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 8
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 87%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +10.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +22.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 18
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 0.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 7
- Loan volume
- $2.0M
- Median loan
- $295K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 14.3%
- 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)
- 50.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Cottage Inn Pizza's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 2 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 5-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Cottage Inn Pizza presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to lack of profitability disclosure, thin revenue base, slow growth trajectory, and inconsistent cost structure that limits visibility into realistic franchisee returns.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $30,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Lotito & Lazzara, P.C.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 19 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to validate profit claims or ROI timeline
- 02MINORWide investment range ($216K–$840K) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs
- 03MEDModest unit growth (10% YoY) with only 63 locations indicates slow expansion and limited brand momentum
- 04MINORAverage weekly revenue of $16,843 translates to ~$876K annually — relatively thin margins for pizza franchise model
- 05HIGHNo 'going concern' qualifier absent suggests potential financial stress or undisclosed franchisor challenges
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 | Area of Primary Responsibility |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 6 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 240 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Speedline
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Speedline
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
67 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cottage Inn Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cottage Inn Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Cottage Inn Pizza franchise ranges from $216K – $840K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Cottage Inn Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cottage Inn Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $876K. The median is $788K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Cottage Inn Pizza's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cottage Inn Pizza (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 Cottage Inn Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cottage Inn Pizza has 63 total units in the United States, including 9 franchised units and 8 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cottage Inn Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cottage Inn Pizza as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 19 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.