FranchiseVerdict
Round Table Pizza logo
FV-02188·STRONGExcellent95

Round Table Pizza

Food & Beverage - PizzaFranchising since 1979Website
Investment
$503K – $2.6M
85th pct Pizza
Avg revenue
$1.1M
29th pct Pizza
Royalty
Units
390
85th pct Pizza
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $503K – $2.6M including a $25K franchise fee.
  • Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M).
  • Rated STRONG with a risk score of 52/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 143 loans (below the industry average).
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
The Round Table Franchise Corporation
Parent company
Round Table Pizza, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
9720 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 500, Beverly Hills, California 90212
Auditor
Macias, Gini & O'Connell, LLP
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$33.0M
vs $34.1M prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2025
Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.

Yale framework · single-unit ROIC

Returns Analysis

Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.

The model · Yale framework

What would one Round Table Pizza unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
FDD Item 19 reports $1,117,441
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: restaurant
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $503K–$2.6M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $25K–$50K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

6%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$89K
EBITDA margin
8.0%
Total invested
$1.6M
Payback
210 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing

What would 25 Round Table Pizza units return on equity?

Edit assumptions

Equity IRR · 5-yr

49.9%

7.57× MOIC

Year-1 DSCR

1.88×

EBITDA ÷ debt service

Equity required

$223K

on $1.1M purchase

Total debt

$894K

SBA $0.6M + senior + seller note

Overview

About

Round Table Pizza franchisees operate casual pizza restaurants serving dine-in, carryout, and delivery customers. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, staffing management, inventory control, and customer service across locations with protected territories averaging ~$1.1M in annual revenue.

CEO
Taylor Wiederhorn
Founded
1959
FDD year
2025
States available
8

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$503K – $2.6M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$25K – $50K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$25K
Royalty
Greater of (i) 4% of Net Sales or (ii) $750.00 per month
Ad fund
4.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

Avg gross sales
$1.1M
Per unit, per year
Median gross sales
$1.1M
Item 19 type
Average and Median sales/costs
Sample size
310 units
vs category median 40 · large
Range (low → high)
$261K$4.2M
Cohort dispersion
Transparency
7 / 5
vs category median 0 / 5 · above
Revenue rank29th
vs Food & Beverage - Pizza peers
Investment cost rank85th
Lower investment ranks lower (better)
Royalty rate rank76th
Lower royalty = lower percentile (better)
Unit count rank85th
vs Food & Beverage - Pizza peers
Risk score rank22th
Lower risk = lower percentile (better)

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
390
Opened
8
Last reporting year
Closed
21
Turnover rate
5.4%
Company-owned
1
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-1.7%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-2.2%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
402-13
Franchised units
2024
409
Franchised units
2025
411
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 4 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 4 states
Not registered

States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.

Government records

SBA Loan Data

Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.

Total loans
143
Loan volume
Avg loan
Default rate
0.0%
vs <3% typical · system-wide
5-yr default

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

52
Risk · 0-100
STRONG52 / 100

Round Table Pizza presents elevated risk due to system contraction, material litigation against parent company, undisclosed profitability metrics, and going concern warnings that warrant significant due diligence before investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.7% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
  2. 02HIGHHigh litigation exposure: securities class actions against parent company FAT Brands and executives, plus state regulatory actions on franchise registration suggest governance and disclosure issues
  3. 03MEDNo average net income disclosed in Item 19 prevents accurate ROI analysis; combined with $502,900-$2.5M investment range, true profitability is opaque
  4. 04HIGHGoing concern warning flag on parent company financial statements raises questions about corporate support, capital availability, and long-term viability
  5. 05MINORHigh royalty floor ($750/month minimum) creates fixed costs that may exceed 4% of sales for struggling locations, pressuring margins
  6. 06MINORWide investment range ($2M spread) suggests inconsistent unit economics or build-out costs, creating uncertainty about comparable performance

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
15 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
8
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
3 hrs
On-the-job training
135 hrs

Item 20

Franchisee Contacts

Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.

Franchisee contacts

81 numbers

Locked
(401) 462-••••
Director of Business Regulations
RI
(209) 357-••••
CA
(209) 541-••••
CA

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Round Table Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above