Happy's PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Happy's Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $264K – $619K, including a $25K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 40.0% charge-off rate across 11 loans[1]. Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $264K – $619K
- 15th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 54
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 40.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
40.0% of SBA loans charged off across 11 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 61 to 54 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $264K – $619K including a $25K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M).
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 75/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 40.0% across 11 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Happy’s Pizza Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Restaurant Equity Partners, LLC
- Incorporated in
- MI
- HQ
- 30955 Northwestern Hwy., Suite 300, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334
- Auditor
- UHY LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $3.3M
- vs $3.4M prior year
Affiliated brands
- and administers and places
- and provides construction
- that sells products to our
- and is the franchisor for
- and owns our Proprietary
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
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
- Headquarters
- MI
- Founded
- 2005
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $25K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $229K | $569K |
| Total initial investment | $264K | $619K |
Source: Happy's Pizza 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$96K
9.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $264K – $619K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- $1,500 per month
- Ad fund
- Up to $750 per week
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Transfer fee | $13K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
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 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $471K→$1.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $854K→$1.3M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Happy's Pizza Compares
Unit growth
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
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 3
- Closed (3yr)
- 6
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 5.3%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 10.5%
- Units that stopped operating
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)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 11
- Loan volume
- $4.7M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 40.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 60.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 4
- Defaults
- 4
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Happy's Pizza's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 4 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 5-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 40.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · UHY 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: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHCriminal indictment of co-founders for conspiracy to defraud U.S. and tax fraud raises fundamental integrity and leadership concerns
- 02HIGHActive civil litigation by investors alleging false representations about liquor licenses indicates systematic misrepresentation to franchisees
- 03HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial distress or viability questions at corporate level
- 04MINORSystem shrinking at -5.3% YoY (54 units) indicates declining franchisee confidence and market rejection
- 05MEDNet income not disclosed despite $1.07M average revenue—transparency red flag suggesting poor unit-level profitability
- 06MEDHigh investment range ($263.7K–$619.3K) combined with $1.5K monthly royalties creates significant franchisee debt burden relative to undisclosed margins
- 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
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | 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 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Michigan |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 10 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 280 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- Required Software
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Required Software
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
60 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Happy's Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Happy's Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Happy's Pizza franchise ranges from $264K – $619K, 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 Happy's Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Happy's Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Happy's Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Happy's Pizza has a charge-off rate of 40.0% across 11 loans, meaning 40.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Happy's Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Happy's Pizza has 54 total units in the United States, including 61 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Happy's Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Happy's Pizza as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 75 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
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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.