Mazzio’s Italian EateryFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Mazzio’s Italian Eatery franchise requires a total initial investment of $413K – $2.2M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.0M[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $413K – $2.2M
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.0M
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 90
- 41st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
At 0.8x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1979. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
The system contracted 9% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $413K – $2.2M including a $30K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.0M/year.
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 59/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- MAZZIO’S, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- None
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- LORI CARVER
- CEO experience
- 12 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- OK
- HQ
- 4441 South 72nd East Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74145
- Auditor
- GBQ Partners LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $68.0M
- vs $71.4M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual Italian dining restaurants serving traditional pasta, pizza, and Italian entrees. Daily operations include managing front-of-house service, kitchen staff, food inventory, and marketing to drive the $1M+ annual revenue average. Unit economics heavily depend on foot traffic, labor cost control, and managing food costs while remitting 4% royalties to corporate.
- CEO
- LORI CARVER
- Headquarters
- OK
- Founded
- 1961
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 9
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 11 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Opening/Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Equipment & Signs | $163K | $400K | |
| Real Estate & Improvements | $0 | $1.4M | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $130K | $467K | |
| Initial Inventory | $10K | $28K | |
| Training Expense | $9K | $33K | |
| Training Expense (Post-Opening) | $10K | $17K | |
| Training Expense (Optional 2-week Program) | $3K | $3K | |
| Additional Funds | $50K | $120K | |
| Advertising (first 3 months) | $5K | $30K | |
| Insurance (first 3 months) | $3K | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $413K | $2.5M |
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.
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
$132K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
10%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
10.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $413K – $2.2M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $120K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Actual Operating Statements
- Sample size
- 15 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $346K→$2.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 6 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.8x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Mazzio’s Italian Eatery Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 90
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.3%
- Company-owned
- 48
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 47%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -8.7%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -12.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 93.3%
- Units that stayed open
- Ceased ops
- 3.3%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 24 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).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 2 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 2
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining franchise system with undisclosed profitability metrics and significant unit closures create substantial uncertainty about franchisee viability and franchisor stability.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information provided in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy case 16-4001 involving United Marketing Communications, Inc. was formally closed on December 18, 2018
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · GBQ Partners LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 59 / 100 rating
- 01MEDSystem contracting sharply: 8.7% unit decline YoY indicates franchisees are closing or not renewing
- 02MINORNo net income disclosure: FDD Item 19 absence prevents ROI validation; average revenue of $1.017M alone doesn't guarantee profitability
- 03MINORWide investment range ($413K-$2.164M) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs not detailed upfront
- 04MINORHigh royalty burden at 4% on thin restaurant margins (typically 3-9% net); combined with occupancy/labor costs may squeeze profitability
- 05MED15-year term is lengthy; franchisees locked in during potential market downturns with limited exit flexibility
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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2.5 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Governing law | Oklahoma |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information provided in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 440 hrs
- Training location
- At designated Mazzio's restaurant location
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- POS system
- LeapfrogPOS / POS/Enterprise system from Dev Studios America, Inc.
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: LeapfrogPOS / POS/Enterprise system from Dev Studios America, Inc.
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
62 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Mazzio’s Italian Eatery · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Mazzio’s Italian Eatery franchise?
The total investment to open a Mazzio’s Italian Eatery franchise ranges from $413K – $2.2M, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Mazzio’s Italian Eatery franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Mazzio’s Italian Eatery FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Mazzio’s Italian Eatery's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Mazzio’s Italian Eatery (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 Mazzio’s Italian Eatery franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Mazzio’s Italian Eatery has 90 total units in the United States, including 42 franchised units and 48 company-owned units.
Is Mazzio’s Italian Eatery a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Mazzio’s Italian Eatery as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 59 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.
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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.