Pizza Ranch Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $2.1M – $3.0M
- Disclosed sales
- $1.6M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 8.2%
- on 243 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Pizza Ranch is a Midwest franchise serving pizza and fried chicken via a buffet and dine-in, plus carryout and delivery. Franchisees run restaurants managing buffet production, kitchen, and a large service staff.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Pizza Ranch franchise requires a total initial investment of $2.1M – $3.0M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 3.5% royalty[2]. 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]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2025 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - a newer filing may exist
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 7 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $2.1M – $3.0M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 3.5%
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 218
- 35th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- 8.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants 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 $2.1M – $3.0M including a $30K franchise fee, 3.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.6M/year, with an estimated 6% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA 7).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 69/100 (higher is better). 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, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (6 opened, 6 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Pizza Ranch, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Majority family-owned
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2025 FDD
- 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
- KRP CPAs (Sioux City, Iowa)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $31.1M
- 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
- CEO
- Adrie Groeneweg
- Headquarters
- IA
- Founded
- 1981
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 15
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 274% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment | $493K | $700K | |
| Arcade Games | $378K | $550K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $1.0M | $1.4M | |
| Construction Costs | — | — | |
| Architect/engineering fees | $46K | $70K | |
| Land | — | — | |
| 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 | $10K | $38K | |
| Working Capital (3 mos.) | $20K | $20K | |
| Total initial investment | $2.1M | $3.0M |
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
- $2.1M – $3.0M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $20K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 3.5%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.3%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.8%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 15.7 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 3.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.3% |
| Training fee | $16K |
| 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.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the full-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Pizza Ranch until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$2.6M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $293K as EBITDA 7. This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for Pizza Ranch.
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Pizza Ranch 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 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.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for 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.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.6M
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Avg ebitda 7
- $293K
- Reported as EBITDA 7 in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 6.4%
- Based on EBITDA 7 / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales and ebitdar
- Sample size
- 212 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $278K→$5.5MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 44 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.7x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.6M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.8% — below the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 6/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+3.4% 3-year CAGR) with 218 units.
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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Pizza Ranch Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants 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 2025 · Item 20
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 (3-yr)
- -3.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 6
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 12
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 14
- 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).
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
212 current owners across 14 states.
- IA 68
- MN 43
- WI 29
- SD 19
- ND 14
- IL 8
- MO 7
- KS 6
- NE 6
- MI 4
- MT 4
- WY 2
- +2 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.
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%
- on 243 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)
- 91.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 66
- Defaults
- 12
- Typical loan rate
- 6.3%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 21.5%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 2,877
- 4.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 7%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 47% went to startups / new businesses, 53% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in limited-service restaurants, franchised businesses charge off at 21.5% vs 25.0% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Pizza Ranch charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Pizza Ranch franchisees
Showing 3 of 66 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 Pizza Ranch from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 2.6%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 78%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.28%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $175K
- Lender concentration
- 7.0%
- Job velocity
- 4.7 per $100K
- Startup risk premium
- 0.0pp
- NAICS benchmark
- 15.7%
- NAICS 722211
- Jobs supported
- 2,877
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 7% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iowa State Bank | 9 | $1.9M | 0.0% |
| 2 | American State Bank | 7 | $687K | 0.0% |
| 3 | Stearns Bank National Association | 7 | $5.8M | 14.3% |
| 4 | The First National Bank in Sioux Falls | 6 | $1.3M | 0.0% |
| 5 | BankVista | 5 | $1.8M | 0.0% |
| 6 | Dacotah Bank | 5 | $555K | 0.0% |
| 7 | First Interstate Bank | 4 | $859K | 0.0% |
| 8 | First Savings Bank | 4 | $11.1M | N/A |
| 9 | Sunflower Bank National Association | 4 | $2.7M | 0.0% |
| 10 | Northwest Bank | 3 | $405K | 33.3% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| IAIowa | 37 | 4 | 12.1% |
| MNMinnesota | 33 | 2 | 6.7% |
| SDSouth Dakota | 22 | 1 | 5.0% |
| KSKansas | 8 | 0 | 0.0% |
| NDNorth Dakota | 8 | 0 | 0.0% |
| WIWisconsin | 8 | 1 | 14.3% |
| COColorado | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| ILIllinois | 3 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MOMissouri | 2 | 0 | -- |
| NENebraska | 2 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 8.2% — 49% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower 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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KRP CPAs (Sioux City, Iowa)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Item 21 audited consolidated financial statements of Pizza Ranch, Inc. and Subsidiaries (Iowa S-corp), FYE Dec 31, 2024 (with comparatives 2023, 2022). Figures in whole US dollars (statements presented in whole dollars, no thousands scaling). Total revenue $31,076,684 comprises franchise royalties $13,786,680, restaurant revenue $12,479,034, volume allowance rebates $3,162,220, financial services revenue $1,324,034, franchise fees $210,444, transfer fees $68,000, franchise supplies/merchandise $2,978, and other $43,294. Balance sheet reconciles: total assets $30,898,171 = total liabilities $8,235,928 (current $2,499,983 + noncurrent $5,735,945) + total stockholders' equity $22,662,243. Net worth = total stockholders' equity. Auditor: King Reinsch Prosser & Co., L.L.P. (Sioux City, IA), report dated March 24, 2025.
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
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 69 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnit count stagnation — 218 units with 'unknown growth' suggests flat or declining system; no disclosure of unit openings/closures raises accountability concerns
- 02MINORSubstantial 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
- 03MEDCasual 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
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.8% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 90 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 7 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | Iowa |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | IA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 400 hrs
- Training location
- Certified Training Restaurant or Pizza Ranch Support Center, Orange City, Iowa
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Revel Systems (restaurant); Embed (FunZone)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Revel Systems (restaurant); Embed (FunZone)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
212 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 Pizza Ranch franchise?
The total investment to open a Pizza Ranch franchise ranges from $2.1M – $3.0M, 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. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Pizza Ranch?
Pizza Ranch is franchised by Pizza Ranch, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Majority family-owned. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Pizza Ranch 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 Pizza Ranch FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 69 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
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Pizza Ranch, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.