Cottage Inn Pizza Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $216K – $500K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (7)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Cottage Inn Pizza is a pizza restaurant franchise offering specialty pizzas with dine-in, carryout, and delivery. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and local marketing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cottage Inn Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $216K – $500K, including a $25K – $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $216K – $500K
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Partial period
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 63
- 69th 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 median · 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 $216K – $500K including a $25K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports weekly unit sales rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 80/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +5 franchised outlets in the latest year (5 opened, 0 closed); 8 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 22.2% CAGR over 3 years with 63 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Cottage Inn Franchisor, LLC
- Predecessor
- Cottage Inn Carryout and Delivery, Inc. (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
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.9M
- Most recent fiscal year
Affiliated brands
- CI
- Marketing
- Commissary
- Development
- Delco
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Christina Narra
- Headquarters
- MI
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 3
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 26% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown10 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $216K – $500K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $36K – $45K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 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 |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $25K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Cottage Inn Pizza is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Cottage Inn Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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
Covers a partial period, not a full year
- Item 19 type
- partial-period revenue
- Sample size
- 50
- vs category median 19 · large
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
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 9.0% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.5%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports weekly unit sales rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System expanding at 22.2% CAGR over 3 years across 63 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 medians
How Cottage Inn Pizza Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 63
- Opened
- 5
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 8
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 87%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +22.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +22.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 2
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 8
- 0.13 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 17
- 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
67 current owners across 3 states.
- MI 63
- OH 3
- IN 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
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
- Under 10 loans (7)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 7 loans, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (7)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (7)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- 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
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)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Lotito & Lazzara, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2024 audited Statement of Income and Member's Equity. Total Revenues 2,903,982 = Royalties 2,692,987 + Franchise and Development Fees 90,000 + Administrative Fees 120,995. Only one audited fiscal year (2024) is presented; franchisor (Cottage Inn Franchisor, LLC) was organized July 2023, so no prior-year comparative. other_revenue reflects 'Other Income' 14,331 (separate Interest Income of 19,552 also reported). Audited by a firm in Macomb, Michigan (report dated August 7, 2025); firm name not present in extracted text.
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
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 80 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — impossible to validate profit claims or ROI timeline
- 02MEDModest unit growth (10% YoY) with only 63 locations indicates slow expansion and limited brand momentum
- 03MINORAverage weekly revenue of $16,843 translates to ~$876K annually — relatively thin margins for pizza franchise model
- 04MEDNo 'going concern' qualifier absent suggests potential financial stress or undisclosed franchisor challenges
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Area of Primary Responsibility bounded by streets, roads, highways or natural boundaries; extent set by demographics and locations of other Cottage Inn stores |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | N/A - disputes resolved by litigation in Washtenaw County, Michigan |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MI |
| 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
- Corporate Store (Ann Arbor area) and Corporate HQ
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects, franchisor must approve
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- 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
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 – $500K, 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?
Item 19 of the Cottage Inn Pizza FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Cottage Inn Pizza?
Cottage Inn Pizza is franchised by Cottage Inn Franchisor, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Cottage Inn Pizza 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 Cottage Inn Pizza FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 55 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 verdict score of 80 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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?
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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.