FranchiseVerdict
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FV-01885·MODERATEExcellent95

Pappalecco

Food & Beverage - Coffee & TeaFranchising since 2022Website
Investment
$343K – $637K
63rd pct Coffee & Tea
Avg revenue
$1.1M
35th pct Coffee & Tea
Royalty
5.0%
17th pct Coffee & Tea
Units
2
17th pct Coffee & Tea
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $343K – $637K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M). Estimated payback in 2.4 years.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Pappalecco Franchising, LLC
Parent company
Gelaterie Bucci Inc.
Incorporated in
California
HQ
3402 Kurtz Street, San Diego, California 92110
Auditor
DA Advisory Group PLLC
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$0
vs $50K 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 Pappalecco unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,117,491
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $343K–$637K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $50K–$80K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

22%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$123K
EBITDA margin
11.0%
Total invested
$555K
Payback
54 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 Pappalecco 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

$894K

on $4.5M purchase

Total debt

$3.6M

SBA $2.2M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Pappalecco franchisees operate Italian casual dining establishments serving traditional Italian cuisine. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, kitchen management, front-of-house service, inventory control, and customer relationship management in a sit-down dining environment.

CEO
Francesco Bucci
Founded
2022
FDD year
2025
States available
1

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$343K – $637K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$50K – $80K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical
Payback period
2.4 yrs
From v3 / Item 19

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.1M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.1M
Item 19 type
Actual
Sample size
2 units
vs category median 13 · small
Range (low → high)
$1.1M$1.2M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
9 / 5
vs category median 2 / 5 · above
Revenue rank35th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Investment cost rank63th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank17th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank17th
vs Food & Beverage - Coffee & Tea peers
Risk score rank45th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
2
Opened
0
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
0%
vs corporate-owned
2023
0±0
Franchised units
2024
0
Franchised units
2025
0
Franchised units

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

Item 12 · 1 state 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.

1

states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)

Government records

SBA Loan Data

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

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

Pappalecco presents caution-level risk: a micro-franchise system with only 2 units, unverified financial claims, and insufficient franchisor revenue to support meaningful franchisee support.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINOROnly 2 operating units represents an extremely small, unproven franchise system with no demonstrated growth trajectory
  2. 02HIGHNo Item 19 financial performance representation ('Going Concern: False') limits ability to verify the $1.1M average revenue claim independently
  3. 03MINORHigh initial investment ($343K-$636.5K) relative to system size creates significant risk if franchisee underperforms or system contracts
  4. 04HIGHAbsence of disclosed litigation is notable but not reassuring given the minimal unit count and short operating history
  5. 05MINOR5% royalty on $1.1M revenue generates only $55,750 annually in franchisor revenue per unit, potentially insufficient to support franchise operations and support infrastructure

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
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
55 hrs
On-the-job training
63 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

1 numbers

Locked
(213) 576-••••
NY

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Pappalecco · FDD (2025) PDF

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