Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
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: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.4M – $1.9M
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.1M
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 24th 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 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 $1.4M – $1.9M including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.1M/year (median $1.9M).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 61/100 (higher is better).
- FLAGBankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
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)
- 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 46% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leasehold Improvements (Construction and Contractor) | $630K | $850K | |
| Architectural and Engineering Fees | $32K | $40K | |
| Equipment | $210K | $240K | |
| Coal Brick Oven | $65K | $130K | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $60K | $65K | |
| Interior Finishes and Equipment | $85K | $105K | |
| 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 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 | $1.8M |
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%
- 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 |
| 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 18% above the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · 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
$206K
10.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
12%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
8.5 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 Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
12%
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 Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.2M
on $6.2M purchase
Total debt
$4.9M
SBA $3.1M + 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: 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→$2.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- 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 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 $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 average).
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 averages
How Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 44
- Opened
- 3
- 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
- 100.0%
- 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
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 4
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 0
- 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)
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)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Largest disclosed settlement: $50,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
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 61 / 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 | none |
| 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
FDD download
Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria · FDD (2026) PDF
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.
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. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Grimaldi's Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 61 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
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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.