Gold Dust Pizza Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Gold Dust Pizza is a pizza franchise serving pizza and Italian fare for dine-in, carryout, and delivery. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Gold Dust Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $279K – $936K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $279K – $936K
- 45th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 5
- 24th 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 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 $279K – $936K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSFinancial statements are unaudited; prepared without an audit by a CPA. Start-up balance sheet only as of 9/30/2025 (franchisor formed 7/10/2025): Total Assets $1,000 (cash), Total Liabilities $1,000 (due to affiliates), Member's Equity $0. No income statement or revenue presented.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 44/100 (higher is better).
- DATAItem 19 reports net sales by location rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Gold Dust Pizza, LLC
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- Organizer/Member/Manager
- Monica Willey
- Incorporated in
- WY
- HQ
- 1444 W Main Street Ste A, Ripon, CA 95366
- Auditor
- MUHAMMAD ZUBAIRY, CPA PC
- Unaudited
Overview
About
- CEO
- Monica Willey
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2025
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 8% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Rent and Lease Security Deposit | $2K | $27K | |
| Utilities | $2K | $5K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $50K | $400K | |
| Market Introduction Programnot refundable | $8K | $15K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipmentnot refundable | $100K | $240K | |
| Computer Systemsnot refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $4K | $15K | |
| Signagenot refundable | $15K | $30K | |
| Office Expensesnot refundable | $1K | $2K | |
| Inventorynot refundable | $15K | $45K | |
| Licenses and Permitsnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Professional Fees (lawyer, accountant, etc.)not refundable | $2K | $5K | |
| Travel, Lodging and Meals for Initial Trainingnot refundable | $6K | $12K | |
| Additional Funds (for first 3 months)not refundable | $40K | $100K | |
| Additional Initial Franchise Fees (Multi-Unit Development Agreement)not refundable | $30K | $98K | |
| Business Planning and Miscellaneous Expenses (MUDA)not refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $310K | $1.0M |
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
- $279K – $936K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $100K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- percentage · 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 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $45K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Gold Dust Pizza did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Gold Dust Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
18%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
Financial statements are unaudited; prepared without an audit by a CPA. Start-up balance sheet only as of 9/30/2025 (franchisor formed 7/10/2025): Total Assets $1,000 (cash), Total Liabilities $1,000 (due to affiliates), Member's Equity $0. No income statement or revenue presented.
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
- Item 19 type
- net sales by location
- Sample size
- 4
- vs category median 20 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $705K→$3.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 782 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 6.0% — below the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports net sales by location rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +25.0% over 3 years (0 opened, 0 closed).
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 averages
How Gold Dust Pizza Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +25.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Gold Dust Pizza is a micro-franchise with insufficient operating history, opaque profitability metrics, and unclear unit economics that warrant caution despite protected territory and no litigation.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
No audited financials on file
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 5 units in system with unknown growth trajectory — insufficient scale and data to assess viability
- 02MEDNet Income not disclosed in FDD — unable to validate $2M+ average revenue translates to acceptable profitability
- 03MINORWide investment range ($279K–$935K) suggests inconsistent unit economics or unclear cost structure
- 04MINORExtremely small franchisee base limits meaningful performance validation and peer support network
- 05MED5% royalty on undisclosed net income creates uncertainty about true cost burden to franchisees
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% 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 |
|---|---|
| Territory type | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 3 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Sheridan, Wyoming |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | WY |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 48 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 13 hrs
- Training location
- Our Location, Ripon, CA; Your Location or Virtual
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Time to open
- 8 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- TOAST POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: TOAST POS
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Gold Dust Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Gold Dust Pizza franchise ranges from $279K – $936K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Gold Dust Pizza franchise owners earn?
Gold Dust Pizza 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 Item 19 in the Gold Dust 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 Gold Dust Pizza FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Gold Dust Pizza's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Gold Dust 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 Gold Dust Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Gold Dust Pizza has 5 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 5 company-owned units.
Is Gold Dust Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Gold Dust Pizza as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 44 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?
If you represent Gold Dust Pizza, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.