Russo’s New York PizzeriaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Russo’s New York Pizzeria franchise requires a total initial investment of $439K – $1.5M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $882K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 14.3% charge-off rate across 14 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $439K – $1.5M
- 29th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $882K
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 36
- 33rd pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 14.3%
- 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
Franchising since 1998. 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 $439K – $1.5M including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $882K/year (median $834K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 64/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 14.3% across 14 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
- NEW YORK PIZZERIA INCORPORATED
- Ultimate parent
- None
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Gerardo Anthony Russo
- CEO experience
- 26 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 5120 Woodway Drive, Suite 8030, Houston, Texas 77056
- Auditor
- Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.5M
- vs $2.6M 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
Russo's New York Pizzeria franchisees operate casual-dining pizza restaurants focused on New York-style pies and Italian cuisine. Day-to-day operations include managing staff, overseeing food preparation and quality, managing inventory and vendor relationships, handling point-of-sale operations, and driving local marketing and customer acquisition within a protected territory.
- CEO
- Gerardo Anthony Russo
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 1998
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 21 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35K | $35K | |
| Opening Date Extension Feenot refundable | $0 | $10K | |
| In-Store Opening Trainingnot refundable | $10K | $50K | |
| Site Evaluation Expenses | $1K | $5K | |
| Lease Payments - 3 Months | $15K | $75K | |
| Ancillary Real Estate Fees | $5K | $10K | |
| Architectural | $12K | $25K | |
| Engineering | $4K | $10K | |
| Plan Review Fee | $500 | $500 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $150K | $750K | |
| Signage | $5K | $40K | |
| Retail Equipment / Delivery Vehicle | $130K | $270K | |
| Electronic Cash Register with Modem | $19K | $40K | |
| Facsimile Machine | $350 | $500 | |
| Business Licenses & Permits | $5K | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurance Deposits and Premiums | $5K | $20K | |
| Initial Inventory | $10K | $30K | |
| Travel, Lodging and Meals for Initial Training | $10K | $40K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising Program | $10K | $25K | |
| Total initial investment | $449K | $1.5M |
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
$93K
10.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
10.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $439K – $1.5M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $35K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $12K |
| Renewal fee | $12K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $882K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $834K
- Item 19 type
- net_sales
- Sample size
- 25 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $428K→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $518K→$1.3M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Russo’s New York Pizzeria Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 36
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 8
- Terminated
- 4
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 22.2%
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 83%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 50.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- -3.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -3.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 7
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 20.6%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 11.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 11.8%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 20 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
- 14
- Loan volume
- $8.6M
- Median loan
- $618K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- 14.3%
- 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)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 10
- Defaults
- 1
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Russo’s New York Pizzeria's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 4 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 7-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Russo's shows early-stage contraction with opaque profitability, regulatory compliance issues, and litigation concerns — suitable only for investors comfortable with higher risk and independent validation of franchisee economics.
Litigation (Item 3)
Commissioner of Financial Protection & Innovation vs. New York Pizzeria Inc. (settled Jan 27, 2022, $2,500 penalty for Corporations Code 31110 violation); New York Pizzeria Inc. vs. Shimon Bohbout et al. (269th Judicial District Court Harris County Texas, Case 2024-46271, judgment awarded July 24, 2024, garnishment proceedings ongoing against Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase Bank, ANZ Banking Group garnishment dismissed Dec 9, 2025)
Largest disclosed settlement: $2,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Muhammad Zubairy, CPA PC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 64 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 3.4% YoY (36 units) indicating system contraction and potential market saturation or franchisee satisfaction issues
- 02MINORNo Item 19 (net income disclosure) provided despite average revenue of $882k — inability or unwillingness to disclose profitability is a major transparency concern
- 03MINORRegulatory penalty from California DFPI for unregistered marketing activity suggests compliance weaknesses at corporate level
- 04HIGHFranchisor litigation against former franchisee indicates potential disputes over arbitration enforcement and possible franchisee relationship deterioration
- 05MEDHigh investment range ($439k-$1.5M) combined with 6% royalty creates significant breakeven hurdle without disclosed net income benchmarks
- 06MINORSmall unit base (36 locations) limits brand recognition, marketing scale, and supply chain leverage compared to larger franchises
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 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| 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 | 20 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Harris County, Texas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Commissioner of Financial Protection & Innovation vs. New York Pizzeria Inc. (settled Jan 27, 2022, $2,500 penalty for Corporations Code 31110 violation); New York Pizzeria Inc. vs. Shimon Bohbout et al. (269th Judicial District Court Harris County Texas, Case 2024-46271, judgment awarded July 24, 2024, garnishment proceedings ongoing against Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase Bank, ANZ Banking Group garnishment dismissed Dec 9, 2025)
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 200 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 200 hrs
- Training location
- headquarters
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Micros POS or Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Micros POS or Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
30 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Russo’s New York Pizzeria · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Russo’s New York Pizzeria franchise?
The total investment to open a Russo’s New York Pizzeria franchise ranges from $439K – $1.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Russo’s New York Pizzeria franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Russo’s New York Pizzeria FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $882K. The median is $834K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Russo’s New York Pizzeria's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Russo’s New York Pizzeria has a charge-off rate of 14.3% across 14 loans, meaning 14.3% 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 Russo’s New York Pizzeria franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Russo’s New York Pizzeria has 36 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 6 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Russo’s New York Pizzeria a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Russo’s New York Pizzeria as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 64 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.