FranchiseVerdict
Manhattan Pizza logo
FV-01567·MODERATEExcellent95

Manhattan Pizza

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2013Website
Investment
$401K – $758K
54th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
$1.6M
34th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.5%
50th pct Full Service
Units
13
47th pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $401K – $758K including a $34K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.6M).
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 2 loans (below the industry average).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Manhattan Pizza Company Franchising, LLC
Parent company
Manhattan Pizza Company, LLC
Incorporated in
Virginia
HQ
307 E. Market Street, Second Floor, Leesburg, Virginia 20176
Auditor
Crowe Donahue PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$655K
vs $675K 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 Manhattan Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,607,768
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: $401K–$758K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $15K–$25K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

44%

In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$265K
EBITDA margin
16.5%
Total invested
$599K
Payback
27 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 Manhattan Pizza units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

33.8%

4.30× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

2.40×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$5.7M

on $15.3M purchase

Total debt

$9.6M

SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note

SBA 7(a) request ($7.6M) exceeds the $5M program cap. Excess capped automatically; backfill via conventional or equity.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate full-service or quick-service pizza restaurants under the Manhattan Pizza brand, managing daily kitchen operations, food preparation, customer service, delivery logistics, and staff scheduling. They generate revenue through dine-in, takeout, and delivery channels while paying 5.5% royalties on all gross sales to the franchisor.

CEO
Jack Azar
Founded
2013
FDD year
2025
States available
3

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$401K – $758K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$15K – $25K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$34K
Royalty
5.5%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
1.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
6.5%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.6M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.6M
Item 19 type
Average and Median Revenue
Sample size
12 units
vs category median 15
Range (low → high)
$1.3M$2.0M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
6 / 5
vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Revenue rank34th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Investment cost rank54th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank50th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank47th
vs Food & Beverage - Full Service peers
Risk score rank51th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
13
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Multi-unit owners
50.0%
Net growth (yr3)
+0.0%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-14.3%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
12±0
Franchised units
2024
12
Franchised units
2025
14
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 18 states with active franchisees

The Territory Map

Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 18 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

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

Total loans
2
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

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

Manhattan Pizza presents meaningful risk due to undisclosed profitability, stagnant unit count, franchisor litigation history, and concerning going concern status — requiring extensive validation before investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 (average net income) disclosed — cannot verify actual profitability despite $1.6M average revenue claim
  2. 02MINOROnly 13 units with unknown growth trajectory — suggests stagnant or declining system
  3. 03HIGHMultiple litigation incidents (2014 unregistered franchise sales, 2021 personal injury, 2023 royalty default judgment) indicate compliance and relationship issues
  4. 04HIGHGoing Concern = False — potential financial instability at franchisor level
  5. 05MINORHigh initial investment ($400K-$758K) paired with unknown unit growth creates ROI uncertainty
  6. 06MED5.5% royalty on gross sales provides no margin cushion if net income is undisclosed

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Proximity
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
3
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
No
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
1 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Optional
Governing law
Virginia

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
26 hrs
On-the-job training
94 hrs

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

23 numbers

Locked
(703) 722-••••
South Riding,
VA
(515) 281-••••
IA
(202) 326-••••
DC

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Manhattan Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF

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