FranchiseVerdict
Happy's Pizza logo
FV-01157·CAUTIONExcellent95

Happy's Pizza

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2007Website
Investment
$264K – $619K
29th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$1.1M
20th pct Full Service
Royalty
Units
54
73rd pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $264K – $619K including a $25K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M).
  • Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 74/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 15 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Happy’s Pizza Franchise, LLC
Parent company
Restaurant Equity Partners, LLC
Incorporated in
Michigan
HQ
30955 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 300, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334
Auditor
UHY LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$3.3M
vs $3.4M 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 Happy's Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,068,578
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $264K–$619K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$25K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

33%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$150K
EBITDA margin
14.0%
Total invested
$459K
Payback
37 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.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Happy's Pizza units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$1.5M

on $7.5M purchase

Total debt

$6.0M

SBA $3.7M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Happy's Pizza franchisees operate quick-service pizza restaurants serving dine-in, carryout, and delivery customers. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staffing, point-of-sale transactions, and liquor license compliance. Franchisees are responsible for local marketing, rent, utilities, and managing 8–15 employees on average.

CEO
Happy Asker
Founded
2005
FDD year
2025
States available
2

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$264K – $619K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $25K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
$1,500 per month
Ad fund
Up to $750 per week

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.1M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.1M
Item 19 type
Gross Sales
Sample size
50 units
vs category median 15 · large
Range (low → high)
$471K$1.9M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
4 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Revenue rank20th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank29th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank93th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank73th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank91th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
54
Opened
3
Last reporting year
Closed
3
Turnover rate
5.6%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-5.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-3.6%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
54-3
Franchised units
2024
57
Franchised units
2025
56
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 12 · 2 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.

2

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

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

Total loans
15
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

74
Risk · 0-100
CAUTION74 / 100

Criminal fraud indictment of founders, investor lawsuits for misrepresentation, shrinking unit count, and undisclosed profitability create an extreme-risk profile unsuitable for most prospective franchisees.

Score breakdown · what drove the 74 / 100 rating

  1. 01HIGHCriminal indictment of co-founders for conspiracy to defraud U.S. and tax fraud raises fundamental integrity and leadership concerns
  2. 02HIGHActive civil litigation by investors alleging false representations about liquor licenses indicates systematic misrepresentation to franchisees
  3. 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial distress or viability questions at corporate level
  4. 04MINORSystem shrinking at -5.3% YoY (54 units) indicates declining franchisee confidence and market rejection
  5. 05MEDNet income not disclosed despite $1.07M average revenue—transparency red flag suggesting poor unit-level profitability
  6. 06MEDHigh investment range ($263.7K–$619.3K) combined with $1.5K monthly royalties creates significant franchisee debt burden relative to undisclosed margins
  7. 07HIGHCriminal defendants (Asker and Bashi) still in active management poses ongoing reputational and operational risk

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

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

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
10 hrs
On-the-job training
280 hrs
POS system
Required Software
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

60 numbers

Locked
(248) 874-••••
MI
(313) 894-••••
MI
(517) 372-••••
MI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Happy's Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF

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