Pinot's PaletteFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pinot's Palette franchise requires a total initial investment of $91K – $246K, including a $23K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2022 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 20.0% charge-off rate across 46 loans[1]. Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2022 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $91K – $246K
- 8th pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 23rd pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 6th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 82
- 35th pct Recreation & …
- SBA default
- 20.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Recreation & Entertainment 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
20.0% of SBA loans charged off across 46 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
The system contracted 12% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $91K – $246K including a $23K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 100/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 20.0% across 46 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System 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
- Legal entity
- Pinot’s Palette Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Pinot Holdings LLC
- CEO title
- President
- Doug Van Tassell
- 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 #3044, 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
Franchisees operate paint-and-sip wine studios where customers attend guided painting classes while consuming wine and beverages. Day-to-day operations include managing class scheduling, instructor coordination, inventory management (art supplies and beverages), customer service, marketing, and event hosting in a retail/studio environment.
- CEO
- Doug Van Tassell
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2010
- FDD year
- 2022
- States available
- 25
FDD Item 7 · 2022 filing · 32 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee (One Room Studio)not refundable | $23K | $23K | |
| Artist Training Fee (One Room Studio)not refundable | $3K | $4K | |
| Business Licenses & Permits (One Room Studio) | $500 | $4K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (One Room Studio) | $12K | $68K | |
| Bar Build-Out (One Room Studio) | $0 | $10K | |
| Fixtures, Furnishings & Equipment (One Room Studio) | $14K | $17K | |
| External Signage (One Room Studio) | $4K | $6K | |
| Computer System (One Room Studio) | $3K | $3K | |
| Architect/Engineering Fees (One Room Studio) | $2K | $6K | |
| Rent, Security Deposits and Utility Deposits (One Room Studio) | $5K | $10K | |
| Other Professional Fees (One Room Studio) | $550 | $3K | |
| Insurance Deposit (One Room Studio) | $600 | $1K | |
| Initial Inventory of General and Art Supplies (One Room Studio) | $12K | $13K | |
| Training Expenses (One Room Studio) | $100 | $2K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising (One Room Studio) | $4K | $4K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months (One Room Studio) | $9K | $21K | |
| Franchise Fee (Two Room Studio)not refundable | $23K | $23K | |
| Artist Training Fee (Two Room Studio)not refundable | $3K | $4K | |
| Business Licenses & Permits (Two Room Studio) | $500 | $4K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Two Room Studio) | $54K | $100K | |
| Total initial investment | $243K | $438K |
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 – $246K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $9K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $23K – $23K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- NAT Sales · 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% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $255 |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Recreation & Entertainment averages
How Pinot's Palette Compares
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 (yr3)
- -11.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -34.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- 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 · 26 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.
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%
- 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
Vintage analysis
Pinot's Palette charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Pinot's Palette's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
A 20.0% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 5 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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)
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)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 100 / 100 rating
- 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
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is False — potential franchisor financial stability concerns
- 05MEDInvestment 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
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| 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 |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 91 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 75 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- 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
90 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Pinot's Palette · FDD (2022) PDF
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 – $246K, 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 does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
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 risk score of 100 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.