Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $1.4M – $1.9M
- Disclosed sales
- $2.1M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria is a restaurant franchise known for coal-fired, thin-crust New York-style pizza. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing the coal-oven kitchen, staffing, and dining service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.4M – $1.9M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.1M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $1.4M – $1.9M
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 44
- 26th 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 median · 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 $1.4M – $1.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.1M/year (median $1.9M).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- FLAGItem 4 discloses a bankruptcy of an officer or of a company an officer ran, not of the franchisor. Review Item 4 for details.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- CBOP Domestic, Inc.
- Parent company
- Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria, Inc. (CBOP)
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and President
- Joseph Ciolli
- Incorporated in
- AZ
- HQ
- 15005 N. Northsight Blvd., Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
- Auditor
- Baker Tilly US, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $415K
- vs $163K prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- JMC Restaurant Holdings
- Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria
- CBOP Global
- CBOP Retail
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Joseph Ciolli
- Headquarters
- AZ
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 12
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 151% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $630K | $900K | |
| Architectural and Engineering Fees | $32K | $40K | |
| Equipment | $269K | $300K | |
| Coal Brick Oven | $65K | $130K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $60K | $65K | |
| Interior Finishes and Equipment | $85K | $110K | |
| Exterior Finishes and Equipment | $40K | $65K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Professional Services | $10K | $20K | |
| Rent (3 months) | $47K | $68K | |
| Pre-opening Travel | $25K | $32K | |
| Pre-opening Labor | $45K | $55K | |
| Market Introduction (opening advertising) | $13K | $18K | |
| Business Permits and Licenses excluding a liquor license | $800 | $2K | |
| Opening Inventory | $20K | $25K | |
| Stationery, Printing and Supplies | $1K | $2K | |
| Insurance Pre-Payment | $4K | $5K | |
| Miscellaneous and Other Pre-Payments | $3K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds During the First Three Months of Operation | $50K | $60K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.4M | $1.9M |
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
- $1.4M – $1.9M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 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 |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $13K |
| Inventory (initial) | $20K – $25K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 28% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.8M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
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, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $1.9M
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 sales tiers
- Sample size
- 4 outlets
- vs category median 18 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.6M→$2.7MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 44 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · typical
Compared against 801 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 $2.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 3/10 — moderate disclosure depth. Average and range data are available but detailed cohort breakdowns may be limited. Sample size of 4 outlets — treat as directional only.
Operator retention
System expanding at 300.0% CAGR over 3 years across 44 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 medians
How Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 44
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 40
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 9%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.02 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 0.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 12 states 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.
12
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
3 current owners across 2 states.
- AL 2
- IA 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
Grimaldi's aggressive 300% growth trajectory combined with undisclosed profitability metrics and zero territorial protection creates significant execution and cannibalization risks.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Subject: an officer. An officer’s own bankruptcy or a company an officer ran, not the franchisor’s
In re DATG Pizzeria, Inc., Case No. 9:2022bk17790-EPK, US Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Florida. DATG Pizzeria, an affiliate of CBOP owned by CEO Joseph Ciolli, filed Chapter 11 Subchapter 5 bankruptcy on October 6, 2022 due to a lease dispute. Discharged August 21, 2023; DATG remains operational.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Baker Tilly US, LLP
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 63 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORExplosive 300% YoY unit growth (46 units) suggests rapid expansion without proven sustainability track record
- 02MINORNo territory protection creates cannibalization risk, especially during hypergrowth phase
- 03MINORRapid expansion often correlates with quality control and franchisee support issues
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 2026 · 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 | No territory protection |
| Protected territory | No |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Scottsdale, Arizona |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | AZ |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 33 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 147 hrs
- Training location
- Scottsdale, Arizona (at Grimaldi's Company-Operated Restaurants or designated training facilities)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria franchise?
The total investment to open a Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria franchise ranges from $1.4M – $1.9M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.1M. The median is $1.9M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria?
Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria is franchised by CBOP Domestic, Inc.. Its parent company is Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria, Inc. (CBOP). Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria 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 Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria (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 Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria has 44 total units in the United States, including 4 franchised units and 40 company-owned units.
Is Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.