Pinot's Palette Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $91K – $192K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- 20.0%
- on 46 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Pinot's Palette is an entertainment franchise running paint-and-sip studios where guests create a guided painting while enjoying wine. Franchisees run a studio managing class schedules, artist-instructors, and private events.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pinot's Palette franchise requires a total initial investment of $91K – $192K, including a $23K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. SBA 7(a) loans show a 20.0% charge-off rate across 46 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: F (Weakest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - issued more than two years ago
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $91K – $192K
- 8th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 9th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 82
- 43rd pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- 20.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $91K – $192K including a $23K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict F (Weakest tier), verdict score 25/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 20.0% across 46 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHNegative: net -11 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 12 closed) (Item 20).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -34.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Pinot's Palette Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Pinot Holdings LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2022 FDD
- CEO title
- Managing Member
- Craig Ceccanti
- CEO experience
- 2020 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 16949 N. Eldridge PKWY, Suite 770 #304, Tomball, Texas 77377
- Auditor
- David P. Chaney, CPA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.8M
- vs $2.0M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Craig Ceccanti
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2010
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 25
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 75% below the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $23K | $23K | |
| Artist Training Fee | $3K | $4K | |
| Business Licenses & Permits | $500 | $4K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $12K | $68K | |
| Bar Build-Out | $0 | $10K | |
| Fixtures, Furnishings & Equipment | $14K | $17K | |
| External Signage | $4K | $6K | |
| Computer System | $3K | $3K | |
| Architect/Engineering Fees | $2K | $6K | |
| Rent, Security Deposits and Utility Deposits | $5K | $10K | |
| Other Professional Fees | $550 | $3K | |
| Insurance Deposit | $600 | $1K | |
| Initial Inventory of General and Art Supplies | $12K | $13K | |
| Training Expenses | $100 | $2K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $4K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds (for the initial 3 months of operations) | $9K | $21K | |
| Total initial investment | $91K | $192K |
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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $91K – $192K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $9K – $21K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $23K – $23K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% |
| Technology fee | $255 |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $12K – $13K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Pinot's Palette makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Pinot's Palette unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2022 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Recreation & Entertainment median).
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator retention
System contracting at -34.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Recreation & Entertainment medians
How Pinot's Palette Compares
Category median of published Recreation & Entertainment brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2022 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 82
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 12
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 14.6%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -34.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -34.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 3
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 3.7%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 14.6%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
88 current owners across 25 states.
- CA 15
- NJ 14
- IL 6
- FL 5
- NY 5
- OH 5
- OK 5
- KS 4
- NV 4
- TX 4
- MO 3
- WA 3
- +13 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 46
- Loan volume
- $6.8M
- Median loan
- $128K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 20.0%
- on 46 loans · 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)
- 80.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 50.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 25
- Defaults
- 6
- Typical loan rate
- 7.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 8.5%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 348
- 6.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 16%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 50% went to startups / new businesses, 50% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in fine arts schools, franchised businesses charge off at 8.5% vs 14.1% for independents — franchising is associated with 40% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Pinot's Palette charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Pinot's Palette franchisees
Showing 3 of 25 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Pinot's Palette from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 16.9%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 74%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.96%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $152K
- Lender concentration
- 16.2%
- Job velocity
- 6.4 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.2%
- NAICS 611610
- Jobs supported
- 348
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 16% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stearns Bank National Association | 6 | $823K | 50.0% |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 3 | $632K | 33.3% |
| 3 | The Huntington National Bank | 3 | $175K | 0.0% |
| 4 | CDC Small Business Finance Corp. | 3 | $509K | 0.0% |
| 5 | Celtic Bank Corporation | 3 | $375K | 33.3% |
| 6 | PNC Bank, National Association | 2 | $226K | 0.0% |
| 7 | Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 2 | $100K | 0.0% |
| 8 | First Business Bank | 2 | $431K | 0.0% |
| 9 | Zions Bank, A Division of | 2 | $774K | N/A |
| 10 | BancFirst | 1 | $75K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 8 | 1 | 14.3% |
| TXTexas | 5 | 3 | 60.0% |
| OHOhio | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| GAGeorgia | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| KSKansas | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NVNevada | 2 | 0 | -- |
| NYNew York | 2 | 0 | -- |
| OKOklahoma | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
| PAPennsylvania | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| VAVirginia | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
A 20.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 5 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 20.0% — 25% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Pinot's Palette shows meaningful contraction (−11.8% units), lacks financial transparency (no Item 19), and has going concern issues, creating moderate-to-high investment risk without adequate earnings validation.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · David P. Chaney, CPA, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
FY2021 franchisor total revenue from all sources ($1,761,038) is disclosed in the Item 11 body of the FDD, not in audited Item 21 statements. The audited financial statements (Exhibit I) are NOT present in this extracted text file (it ends at the receipt pages), so total assets/liabilities/net worth/net income and the auditor (CPA firm) name are all absent and recorded as null.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 25 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDUnit count declined 11.8% YoY (82 units) — suggests system contraction or franchisee struggles
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure — cannot validate average unit economics or profitability claims
- 03MEDRevenue and net income not disclosed — lack of transparency on actual franchisee earnings potential
- 04MEDInvestment range of $91K-$246K is moderate-to-high with no disclosed ROI data to justify risk
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2022 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Tomball, Texas (within 5 miles of franchisor's principal place of business) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 68 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 75 hrs
- Training location
- Tomball, Texas or virtually; pre-opening at franchisee location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Pinot Technology Suite (PTS)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Pinot Technology Suite (PTS)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
88 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Pinot's Palette franchise?
The total investment to open a Pinot's Palette franchise ranges from $91K – $192K, with an initial franchise fee of $23K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Pinot's Palette franchise owners earn?
Pinot's Palette makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Pinot's Palette?
Pinot's Palette is franchised by Pinot's Palette Franchise LLC. Its parent company is Pinot Holdings LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2022 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Pinot's Palette FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Pinot's Palette FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Pinot's Palette's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Pinot's Palette has a charge-off rate of 20.0% across 46 loans, meaning 20.0% 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 Pinot's Palette franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Pinot's Palette has 82 total units in the United States, including 82 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Pinot's Palette a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Pinot's Palette as a F-grade franchise with a verdict score of 25 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.