FranchiseVerdict
Glass Nickel Pizza Co. logo
FV-01055·MODERATEStandard71

Glass Nickel Pizza Co.

Formerly known as GNC Independents

Food & Beverage - PizzaFranchising since 2006Website
Investment
$933K – $1.7M
95th pct Pizza
Avg revenue
46th pct Pizza
Royalty
4.0%
2nd pct Pizza
Units
9
20th pct Pizza
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $933K – $1.7M including a $25K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 57/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 19 loans (below the industry average).
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
GN Independents, Inc.
Incorporated in
Wisconsin
HQ
2916 Atwood Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53704
Auditor
Cherry Bekaert LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$840K
vs $844K prior year

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Glass Nickel Pizza Co. unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $933K–$1.7M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $150K–$300K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

6%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$90K
EBITDA margin
12.0%
Total invested
$1.5M
Payback
205 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual or casual-dining pizza restaurants under the Glass Nickel brand, handling daily kitchen operations, staff management, inventory control, and customer service. Day-to-day responsibilities include food preparation, quality control, POS management, and local marketing to drive foot traffic and delivery orders.

CEO
Megan Derleth Nicholson
Founded
2006
FDD year
2025
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$933K – $1.7M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$150K – $300K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
4.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
18.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
9
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
+0.0%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
9±0
Franchised units
2024
9
Franchised units
2025
9
Franchised units

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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 4 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
19
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

57
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE57 / 100

Glass Nickel presents meaningful investment risk due to undisclosed financials, minimal system scale, going concern questions, and territorial vulnerability despite a respectable 4% royalty rate.

Score breakdown · what drove the 57 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORNo financial performance disclosure (Item 19) — cannot validate ROI or profitability claims
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests potential financial instability at corporate level
  3. 03MINOROnly 9 units systemwide — extremely small franchise system with unproven scalability
  4. 04MINORUnprotected territory — franchisees face direct competition from other brand locations
  5. 05MINORHigh initial investment ($933K–$1.7M) relative to system size and lack of performance data
  6. 06MINORUnknown unit growth trajectory — no visibility into system momentum or franchisee success rates
  7. 07MED5-year term is relatively short — limited runway to recoup investment before renegotiation

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Area of Primary Responsibility
Protected territory
No
Initial term
5 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Wisconsin

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
399 hrs
POS system
Microworks PrISM POS system
Operating tech stack

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

10 numbers

Locked
(920) 490-••••
WI
(360) 902-••••
WA
(804) 371-••••
VA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Glass Nickel Pizza Co. · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above