Glass Nickel Pizza Co.Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Glass Nickel Pizza Co. franchise requires a total initial investment of $933K – $1.7M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $933K – $1.7M
- 95th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 59th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 9
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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 $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.
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 62/100.
- 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
- WI
- HQ
- 2916 Atwood Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53704
- Auditor
- Cherry Bekaert LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $840K
- vs $844K prior year
Affiliated brands
- WauKeza
- Pupperoni
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
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
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 2006
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $25K | $25K | |
| Real Estate/Rent | $5K | $15K | |
| Utility Deposits | $0 | $3K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $150K | $400K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $275K | $350K | |
| POS System | $35K | $65K | |
| Initial Inventory | $15K | $20K | |
| Insurance | $10K | $30K | |
| Signage | $10K | $30K | |
| Office Equipment & Supply | $16K | $38K | |
| Grand Opening or Pre-Opening | $0 | $8K | |
| Vehicle | $0 | $40K | |
| Training | $15K | $50K | |
| Uniforms | $2K | $4K | |
| Licenses & Permits | $500 | $3K | |
| Legal & Accounting | $15K | $20K | |
| Initial Payroll/Training Wages | $20K | $30K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $150K | $200K | |
| Total initial investment | $743K | $1.3M |
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
- $933K – $1.7M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $150K – $300K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 18.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $12 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 18.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Glass Nickel Pizza Co. Compares
Unit growth
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
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 19
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
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
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $35,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Cherry Bekaert LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 62 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo financial performance disclosure (Item 19) — cannot validate ROI or profitability claims
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — suggests potential financial instability at corporate level
- 03MINOROnly 9 units systemwide — extremely small franchise system with unproven scalability
- 04MINORUnprotected territory — franchisees face direct competition from other brand locations
- 05MINORHigh initial investment ($933K–$1.7M) relative to system size and lack of performance data
- 06MINORUnknown unit growth trajectory — no visibility into system momentum or franchisee success rates
- 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
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Area of Primary Responsibility |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wisconsin |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 399 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- joint
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Microworks PrISM POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Microworks PrISM POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Glass Nickel Pizza Co. · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Glass Nickel Pizza Co. franchise?
The total investment to open a Glass Nickel Pizza Co. franchise ranges from $933K – $1.7M, 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 Glass Nickel Pizza Co. franchise owners earn?
Glass Nickel Pizza Co. does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Glass Nickel Pizza Co.'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Glass Nickel Pizza Co. (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 Glass Nickel Pizza Co. franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Glass Nickel Pizza Co. has 9 total units in the United States, including 9 franchised units and 0 company-owned units.
Is Glass Nickel Pizza Co. a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Glass Nickel Pizza Co. as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 62 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Glass Nickel Pizza Co., you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Quick-Service Restaurants category
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.