Round Table PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Round Table Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $503K – $2.6M, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 11.4% charge-off rate across 104 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $503K – $2.6M
- 81st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 390
- 86th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 11.4%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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 0.7x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1979. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $503K – $2.6M including a $25K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 46/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 11.4% across 104 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which 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.
- Ultimate parent
- FAT Brands, Inc.
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Taylor Wiederhorn
- Incorporated in
- DE
- 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
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
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
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1959
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 8
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (Dine-In Model)not refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Travel And Living Expenses While Training (Dine-In) | $2K | $4K | |
| Real Estate And Improvements (Dine-In) | $575K | $800K | |
| Furniture, Fixture & Equipment (Dine-In) | $385K | $415K | |
| Point Of Sale Systems and Related Technology (Dine-In) | $35K | $59K | |
| Opening Inventory / Smallwares (Dine-In) | $12K | $15K | |
| Interior Decor Package / Exterior Signage (Dine-In) | $35K | $65K | |
| Grand Opening (Dine-In) | $15K | $15K | |
| Uniforms (Dine-In) | $1K | $2K | |
| Insurance (Dine-In) | $5K | $7K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Dine-In) | $25K | $50K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (DCU Model)not refundable | $25K | $25K | |
| Travel And Living Expenses While Training (DCU) | $2K | $4K | |
| Real Estate And Improvements (DCU) | $135K | $195K | |
| Total initial investment | $1.3M | $1.7M |
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
$156K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
10%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
10.0 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $503K – $2.6M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 4.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Training fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $40 |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
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 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $261K→$4.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-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.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Round Table Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 390
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 21
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.2%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -3.2%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -2.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 10
- Projected new
- 12
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 2.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 5.4%
- Units that stopped operating
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).
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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 104
- Loan volume
- $45.8M
- Median loan
- $281K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 11.4%
- 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)
- 88.6%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 42
- Defaults
- 8
Vintage analysis
Round Table Pizza 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 Round Table Pizza'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 9 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 30-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
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
One pending putative class action (Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands, Inc.) filed June 7, 2024 alleging securities fraud under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the 1934 Act related to false statements about government investigations. One concluded putative class action (Robert J. Matthews v. FAT Brands, Inc.) filed March 18, 2022, and Kerry Chipman filed a second related class action April 25, 2022.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Macias, Gini & O'Connell, LLP⚠ Going-concern note flagged
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 46 / 100 rating
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-1.7% YoY) indicates system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction
- 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
- 03MEDNo average net income disclosed in Item 19 prevents accurate ROI analysis; combined with $502,900-$2.5M investment range, true profitability is opaque
- 04HIGHGoing concern warning flag on parent company financial statements raises questions about corporate support, capital availability, and long-term viability
- 05MINORHigh royalty floor ($750/month minimum) creates fixed costs that may exceed 4% of sales for struggling locations, pressuring margins
- 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
| Initial term | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| 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 | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Los Angeles, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 8 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
One pending putative class action (Mitchell Kates v. FAT Brands, Inc.) filed June 7, 2024 alleging securities fraud under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the 1934 Act related to false statements about government investigations. One concluded putative class action (Robert J. Matthews v. FAT Brands, Inc.) filed March 18, 2022, and Kerry Chipman filed a second related class action April 25, 2022.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 3 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 135 hrs
- Training location
- On-site at franchisee's restaurant
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 11 mo
- From signing to launch
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
81 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Round Table Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Round Table Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Round Table Pizza franchise ranges from $503K – $2.6M, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Round Table Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Round Table Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Round Table Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Round Table Pizza has a charge-off rate of 11.4% across 104 loans, meaning 11.4% 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 Round Table Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Round Table Pizza has 390 total units in the United States, including 389 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Round Table Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Round Table Pizza as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 46 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Round Table Pizza, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Quick-Service Restaurants category
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.