Giordano’s® Restaurants Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Giordano's is an Italian restaurant franchise famous for its Chicago-style stuffed deep-dish pizza. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, dine-in, delivery, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Giordano’s® Restaurants franchise requires a total initial investment of $609K – $2.1M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.8M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $609K – $2.1M
- 27th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Outlet subset9th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 60
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants avg · 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 $609K – $2.1M including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.8M/year (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 51/100 (higher is better).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -11.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- VPC Pizza Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- VPC Pizza Intermediate LLC
- Predecessor
- Giordano's Enterprises, Inc.
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Nicholas Scarpino
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 60 E. Superior Street, Suite 300, Chicago, Illinois 60611
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.6M
- vs $3.7M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- of ours with the same pr
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Nicholas Scarpino
- Headquarters
- IL
- Founded
- 1974
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 14% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $270K | $453K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment & Fees (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $234K | $386K | |
| Initial Inventory (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $5K | $9K | |
| Security Deposits and Advance Rent (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $10K | $20K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $15K | $15K | |
| Miscellaneous Start-Up Costs (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $30K | $40K | |
| Additional Funds-3 Months (Limited-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $854K | $1.1M | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment & Fees (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $557K | $715K | |
| Initial Inventory (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $9K | $23K | |
| Security Deposits and Advance Rent (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $20K | $30K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $20K | $20K | |
| Miscellaneous Start-Up Costs (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $50K | $100K | |
| Additional Funds-3 Months (Full-Service Restaurant)not refundable | $15K | $30K | |
| Development Fee (Area Development Agreement)not refundable | — | — | |
| Total initial investment | $2.2M | $3.0M |
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
- $609K – $2.1M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Inventory (initial) | $5K – $23K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the full-service restaurants norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$185K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
14%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7.3 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Giordano’s® Restaurants unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
14%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Giordano’s® Restaurants units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.1M
on $5.5M purchase
Total debt
$4.4M
SBA $2.8M + senior + seller note
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
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue
- Sample size
- 30
- vs category median 18
- Range (low → high)
- $696K→$4.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · below
Compared against 805 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.8M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.4x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 0/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System contracting at -11.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Giordano’s® Restaurants Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 60
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 2
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.2%
- Company-owned
- 28
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 53%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -11.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -11.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 1
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 2
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Termination rate
- 3.3%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 5.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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
- Michigan
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $2.2M
- Median loan
- $447K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (5 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- 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
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Largest disclosed settlement: $40,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 51 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnit count declining 3.0% YoY indicating system contraction and potential market saturation or operational challenges
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance representations disclosed—inability to validate revenue/profitability claims creates investment opacity
- 03MEDHigh capital requirements ($609K-$2.056M) combined with undisclosed average unit volumes creates unknown ROI and payback period
- 04MINORProtected territory is sole competitive advantage but does not offset lack of financial transparency or shrinking franchisee base
- 05MINOR10-year term locks franchisees into declining system; renewal risk unclear given current unit trajectory
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| 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 | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 3 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Cook County, Illinois |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | IL |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 70 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 250 hrs
- Training location
- Giordano's Pizza Academy and Training Restaurant in Chicago, Illinois; franchisee's Restaurant
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor evaluation/no-objection
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
36 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Giordano’s® Restaurants · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Giordano’s® Restaurants franchise?
The total investment to open a Giordano’s® Restaurants franchise ranges from $609K – $2.1M, 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 Giordano’s® Restaurants franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Giordano’s® Restaurants FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.8M. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Giordano’s® Restaurants 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 Giordano’s® Restaurants FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Giordano’s® Restaurants's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Giordano’s® Restaurants (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 Giordano’s® Restaurants franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Giordano’s® Restaurants has 60 total units in the United States, including 32 franchised units and 28 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Giordano’s® Restaurants a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Giordano’s® Restaurants as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 51 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
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.