Repicci’s Real Italian Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $84K – $173K
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Repicci's Real Italian is a dessert franchise serving authentic Italian ice, gelato, and Italian coffee, often from mobile carts and shops. Franchisees run the operations, managing product prep, events, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Repicci’s Real Italian franchise requires a total initial investment of $84K – $173K, including a $36K franchise fee. 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. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored3 of 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $84K – $173K
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- Not extracted
- Units
- 26
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
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 $84K – $173K including a $36K franchise fee.
- 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 B (Above average), verdict score 69/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +5 franchised outlets in the latest year (5 opened, 0 closed); 2 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 160.0% CAGR over 3 years with 26 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Repicci's Franchising, LLC
- Predecessor
- Repicci's Franchise Group, LLC (and prior Repicci's Franchise Group, Inc./Cardiff International, Inc.)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Michelle L. Repici
- CEO experience
- 2020 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- AL
- HQ
- 4009 Lennox Road, Birmingham, AL 35216
- Auditor
- KMS Financial Consulting
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $374K
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michelle L. Repici
- Headquarters
- AL
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 9
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 81% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown12 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $36K | $36K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses | $2K | $3K | |
| Rent or Real Estate | $0 | $2K | |
| Required Initial Product Purchase | $9K | $9K | |
| Additional Inventory | $2K | $3K | |
| Approved Operating Unit (including proprietary customization) | $26K | $106K | |
| Tax, Title, Licensing, Freight and Delivery | $2K | $3K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs & Contingency | $3K | $3K | |
| Advertising/Marketing (3 months) | $150 | $150 | |
| Insurance (3 months) | $750 | $1K | |
| Computer Equipment and Software/POS | $0 | $2K | |
| Additional Funds for Initial three (3) Months | $5K | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $84K | $173K |
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
- $84K – $173K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $6K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $36K – $36K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- $3,600 flat fee if quota not met
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 1.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | $0 if quota met, $3600 if quota not met |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $2K – $3K |
| Total fee load | 1.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Repicci’s Real Italian 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 Repicci’s Real Italian 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, royalty rate, 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: 2025 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 1.0% — below the Full-Service Restaurants median of 7.0%.
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 expanding at 160.0% CAGR over 3 years across 26 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Repicci’s Real Italian 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
- 26
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +160.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +160.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 2
- 0.08 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 15
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 9 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
21 current owners across 9 states.
- TX 5
- FL 4
- TN 4
- AL 2
- LA 2
- KY 1
- MI 1
- MS 1
- NC 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20; 1 entries carry no state. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $150K
- Median loan
- $150K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 1 loan, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (1)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Young 26-unit food franchise (began franchising 2021) with no litigation and no bankruptcy, but no Item 19 earnings disclosure. Audited financials present; revenue $374K.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · KMS Financial Consulting
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Total revenue of $374,374 for fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 is disclosed in Item 6 (not read from the audited Exhibit A statements, whose pages A-2..A-10 are image-only with no extractable text). Of this, $286,006 (76%) came from required product purchases by franchisees; the remaining $88,368 (recorded as other_revenue) is from royalties/fees/other sources. Franchisor is Repicci's Franchising, LLC. Audited balance-sheet figures (assets, liabilities, member equity, net income) could not be extracted because the financial-statement pages are non-text images.
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
- 01MINORNo Item 19 earnings disclosure
- 02MEDYoung franchisor (2021), limited history
- 03MINORNo litigation, no bankruptcy
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 1.0% 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 | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Alabama |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Alabama |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 16 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 12 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual and Atlanta, GA
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 12 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor provides advice for commissary location selection (site itself is franchisee's Designated Territory / vehicle-based)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Square or Payroc
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Square or Payroc
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
22 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 Repicci’s Real Italian franchise?
The total investment to open a Repicci’s Real Italian franchise ranges from $84K – $173K, with an initial franchise fee of $36K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Repicci’s Real Italian franchise owners earn?
Repicci’s Real Italian 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 Repicci’s Real Italian?
Repicci’s Real Italian is franchised by Repicci's Franchising, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Repicci’s Real Italian 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 Repicci’s Real Italian FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Repicci’s Real Italian's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Repicci’s Real Italian (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Repicci’s Real Italian franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Repicci’s Real Italian has 26 total units in the United States, including 26 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Repicci’s Real Italian a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Repicci’s Real Italian 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
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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.