D.P. DoughFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A D.P. Dough franchise requires a total initial investment of $121K – $360K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $764K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 14.3% charge-off rate across 17 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $121K – $360K
- 4th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $764K
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 58
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 14.3%
- 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
Each dollar invested generates 3.2x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchised units fell from 50 to 49 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $121K – $360K including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $764K/year (median $766K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 31/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 14.3% across 17 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- 4 units terminated last reporting year (6.9% of the system). Ask existing franchisees why.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Calzone King, LLC
- CEO title
- CEO
- Eric Cook
- CEO experience
- 5 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- NY
- HQ
- 397 NY State Route 281, P.O. Box 582, Tully, NY 13159
- Auditor
- Maloney + Novotny LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.3M
- vs $2.7M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
D.P. Dough franchisees operate quick-service restaurants specializing in calzones and similar baked dough products, typically in high-traffic locations like college towns and entertainment districts. Daily operations include food preparation, inventory management, POS operations, staffing, and delivery coordination. The model emphasizes speed of service and delivery capabilities to drive customer traffic.
- CEO
- Eric Cook
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 21
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 23 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Rentnot refundable | $1K | $7K | |
| Security Depositsnot refundable | $1K | $7K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $10K | $115K | |
| Architect | $0 | $8K | |
| Equipment and Fixturesnot refundable | $25K | $65K | |
| Equipment Install and Set Up | $0 | $13K | |
| Real Estate Selection and Construction Management | $0 | $20K | |
| Point of Sale System (including license and equipment)not refundable | $3K | $3K | |
| Opening Inventorynot refundable | $4K | $9K | |
| Start Up Print Packagenot refundable | $2K | $2K | |
| Local Advertising & Grand Openingnot refundable | $2K | $8K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Signsnot refundable | $3K | $8K | |
| Employee Training Labor | $3K | $5K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Trainingnot refundable | $2K | $3K | |
| Professional Support (Attorneys and Accountants)not refundable | $1K | $3K | |
| Permits and Fees | $480 | $600 | |
| Utility Deposits | $0 | $3K | |
| Office Supplies | $250 | $2K | |
| Total initial investment | $121K | $360K |
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
$92K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
34%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
35 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $121K – $360K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $21K – $31K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Net Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $764K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $766K
- Item 19 type
- net_sales
- Sample size
- 37 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $311K→$1.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $479K→$1.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- none
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How D.P. Dough Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 58
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 4
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 1.7%
- Company-owned
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 85%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -9.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -2.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Transfer rate
- 3.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 6.9%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 8.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- Virginia
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
- 17
- Loan volume
- $2.9M
- Median loan
- $115K
- 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)
- 85.7%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 13
- Defaults
- 2
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into D.P. Dough'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 11 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 8-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
D.P. Dough presents high risk: a contracting franchise system with active litigation, undisclosed profitability metrics, and potential franchisor financial instability.
Litigation (Item 3)
Calzone King, LLC filed two lawsuits against former franchisees: (1) v. Redding Empowered, LLC and Devine Redding for failure to pay royalties and operate restaurant for minimum term, resulting in default judgments of $237,650 and $228,867 respectively; (2) v. Midwest Dough Guys, LLC and guarantors Nick Rowan and Cory Rowan for failure to pay royalties, failure to operate for minimum term, and non-compete violations, with Temporary Restraining Order issued and default judgment motion pending.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Maloney + Novotny LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 31 / 100 rating
- 01MINORSystem declining 9.3% YoY (58 units) indicates contraction and potential market saturation or operational issues
- 02MINORNo net income disclosure prevents ROI validation despite $764k average revenue—opacity on profitability is concerning
- 03HIGHActive litigation by franchisor against franchisees over royalties and non-compete violations suggests enforcement aggression and potential franchisee disputes
- 04HIGHGoing Concern = False raises solvency questions about franchisor's financial stability and long-term viability
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($120k-$360k) combined with declining unit count increases risk of poor unit economics
- 06MED5% royalty on undisclosed net income makes it difficult to assess true franchisee profitability
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 | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Calzone King, LLC filed two lawsuits against former franchisees: (1) v. Redding Empowered, LLC and Devine Redding for failure to pay royalties and operate restaurant for minimum term, resulting in default judgments of $237,650 and $228,867 respectively; (2) v. Midwest Dough Guys, LLC and guarantors Nick Rowan and Cory Rowan for failure to pay royalties, failure to operate for minimum term, and non-compete violations, with Temporary Restraining Order issued and default judgment motion pending.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 225 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and at franchisor location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 8 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- joint
- POS system
- Centro
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Centro
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
23 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
D.P. Dough · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a D.P. Dough franchise?
The total investment to open a D.P. Dough franchise ranges from $121K – $360K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do D.P. Dough franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the D.P. Dough FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $764K. The median is $766K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is D.P. Dough's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, D.P. Dough has a charge-off rate of 14.3% across 17 loans, meaning 14.3% 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 D.P. Dough franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, D.P. Dough has 58 total units in the United States, including 50 franchised units and 9 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is D.P. Dough a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates D.P. Dough as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 31 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.