Pizza RanchFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pizza Ranch franchise requires a total initial investment of $2.1M – $4.9M, including a $30K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.6M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 8.2% charge-off rate across 243 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $2.1M – $4.9M
- 47th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- 17th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 218
- 45th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 8.2%
- system-wide median varies by category
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 0.5x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1984. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 212 to 205 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $2.1M – $4.9M including a $30K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.9M), with an estimated 8% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 31/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 8.2% across 243 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Pizza Ranch, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Majority family-owned
- Predecessor
- and Affiliates
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and Co-Founder
- Adrie Groeneweg
- CEO experience
- 38 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- IA
- HQ
- 204 19th Street SE, Orange City, IA 51041
- Auditor
- King, Reinsch, Prosser & Co., L.L.P.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $27.0M
- vs $29.9M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- of ours is PR Production Fund
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual-dining pizza restaurants featuring buffet and carry-out service, typically in Midwest small-to-mid-sized markets. Day-to-day operations include managing 30–80 employees, running buffet lines, kitchen production, front-of-house service, inventory/food cost control, and local marketing to drive dine-in and delivery revenue.
- CEO
- Adrie Groeneweg
- Headquarters
- IA
- Founded
- 1984
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 14
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $493K | $700K | |
| Arcade Games | $378K | $550K | |
| Leasehold Improvements (Retrofit/Leased) | $1.0M | $1.4M | |
| Construction Costs (New Ground-Up) | $2.0M | $2.4M | |
| Architect/Engineering Fees (Retrofit/Leased) | $46K | $70K | |
| Architect/Engineering Fees (New Ground-Up) | $110K | $130K | |
| Land | $0 | $800K | |
| Pre-Opening Training Expenses | $80K | $137K | |
| Food used during Team Member Training | $7K | $9K | |
| Start-Up Costs | $24K | $44K | |
| Rent | — | — | |
| Interest on Pre-Opening Loans (Retrofit/Leased) | $10K | $38K | |
| Interest on Pre-Opening Loans (New Ground-Up) | $10K | $90K | |
| Working Capital (3 mos.) | $20K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $4.2M | $6.4M |
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
$161K
9.8% margin
Unlevered ROIC
5%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
22.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $2.1M – $4.9M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $8K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of $500 or 3.5% of Gross Revenues per month
- Ad fund
- 2.3%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.8%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 12.0 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Greater of $500 or 3.5% of Gross Revenues per month |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.3% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $3K |
| Inventory (initial) | $7K – $9K |
| Total fee load | 5.8% of rev |
A 5.8% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.9M
- Avg ebitda
- $293K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 8.4%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 212 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $278K→$5.5M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.5x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Pizza Ranch Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 218
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 6
- Terminated
- 6
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.8%
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 97%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 12
- Projected new
- 7
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 5.5%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 2.7%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 243
- Loan volume
- $123.0M
- Median loan
- $165K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 8.2%
- 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)
- 91.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 66
- Defaults
- 12
Vintage analysis
Pizza Ranch 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 Pizza Ranch'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 13 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 33-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Pizza Ranch presents moderate-to-cautious risk: high capital requirements, opaque unit economics (no Item 19), stagnant unit growth, and thin margins in a challenged segment warrant deep validation before commitment.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · King, Reinsch, Prosser & Co., L.L.P.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 31 / 100 rating
- 01MINORHigh initial investment ($2.1M–$4.9M) with modest average net income ($292,974) yields 6–16% annual ROI — below typical franchise benchmarks
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial performance representation — cannot verify if $1.65M average revenue and $293K net income are achievable or representative
- 03MINORUnit count stagnation — 218 units with 'unknown growth' suggests flat or declining system; no disclosure of unit openings/closures raises accountability concerns
- 04MINORSubstantial monthly royalty burden ($500 minimum + 3.5%) on $1.65M average revenue equals ~$57,640–$65,000 annually (3.5–3.9% of gross), limiting franchisee profitability
- 05MEDCasual dining category experiencing secular headwinds — pizza and family dining face traffic pressures; no evidence of digital/delivery strength to offset dine-in decline
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius, population density, or political boundaries |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Iowa |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 400 hrs
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Revel Systems
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel Systems
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
212 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Pizza Ranch · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Pizza Ranch franchise?
The total investment to open a Pizza Ranch franchise ranges from $2.1M – $4.9M, 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 Pizza Ranch franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Pizza Ranch FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.6M. The median is $1.9M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Pizza Ranch's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Pizza Ranch has a charge-off rate of 8.2% across 243 loans, meaning 8.2% 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 Pizza Ranch franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Pizza Ranch has 218 total units in the United States, including 212 franchised units and 6 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Pizza Ranch a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Pizza Ranch as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 31 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.