Sauce Pizza / WineFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sauce Pizza / Wine franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.3M – $5.5M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.3M – $5.5M
- 45th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- 20th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 13
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
At 0.6x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Started franchising in 2024. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
18 legal cases disclosed in the FDD. Read Item 3 before signing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.3M – $5.5M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $2.2M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 37/100.
- 18 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- BQ Concepts, LLC
- Parent company
- BBQ Holdings, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Eric Lefebvre
- CEO experience
- 2018 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- AZ
- HQ
- 12701 Whitewater Drive, Suite 100, Minnetonka, Minnesota 55343-4164
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $604.2M
- vs $597.5M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual dining establishments serving pizza and wine in a relaxed atmosphere. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen and front-of-house staff, inventory procurement, food preparation, customer service, and wine program curation. Revenue models depend on dine-in, takeout, and delivery channels.
- CEO
- Eric Lefebvre
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 15 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $40K | $40K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $500K | $2.0M | |
| Land, Building and Constructionnot refundable | $2.4M | $4.0M | |
| Travel and Living Expenses for You and Your Management Staff During Trainingnot refundable | $25K | $40K | |
| Reimbursement of Expenses for Opening Teamnot refundable | $55K | $100K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Decor, and Equipmentnot refundable | $500K | $800K | |
| Architectural and Engineering Feesnot refundable | $50K | $170K | |
| Exterior Signsnot refundable | $45K | $100K | |
| Liquor License Costsnot refundable | $25K | $75K | |
| Site Review Report Feenot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Restaurant Lease Payments - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $11K | $25K | |
| Employee Salaries - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $60K | $110K | |
| Miscellaneousnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Celebrationnot refundable | $15K | $25K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Monthsnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Total initial investment | $3.7M | $7.5M |
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
$230K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
7%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
14.9 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.3M – $5.5M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $10K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $325 |
| Training fee | $750 |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $50 |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
A 6.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.2M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 13 units
- vs category median 13
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.6x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Sauce Pizza / Wine Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 13
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 13
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 5 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
- 169
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
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
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
A financially distressed franchisor with shrinking unit growth, undisclosed profitability, significant litigation exposure, and unprotected territories presents high capital-at-risk for franchisees seeking established brand stability.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two concluded litigation matters disclosed: (1) Purav Enterprises, L.L.C., Balwant Bahia, and Paramjit Samra v. The Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc., et al. (Washington Superior Court, Case No. 15-2-15120-7) - Filed June 2015, alleged FIPA violations and misrepresentation regarding franchise financial performance. Settled March 2016 for $20,000. (2) KOHO, Inc. v. Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. (California Superior Court, Case No. BC572565) - Filed February 2015, alleged breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Cross-complaint filed. Bench trial concluded June 2016 with judgment for Kahala. Attorney's fees awarded to Kahala in amount of $205,000. Parties settled in June 2017 with Kahala repurchasing KOHO's Area Developer territory for $75,000.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
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 37 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern False status indicates potential financial viability issues at franchisor level
- 02HIGHSignificant litigation history involving breach of contract, misrepresentation, and trademark infringement suggests operational and legal instability
- 03MINOROnly 13 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests stagnant or declining system (typical growth franchises have 50+ units)
- 04MEDWide investment range ($1.3M–$5.5M) with no disclosed average net income makes ROI projections impossible
- 05MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees within same geographic areas
- 06MINORHigh initial investment relative to small unit count and unknown profitability creates significant downside exposure
- 07MINOR5% royalty plus $10/week surcharge on $1.9M average revenue yields ~$100K+ annual franchisor revenue per unit, yet system is not growing
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 |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| 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 | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 14 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | franchisee_state |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | State where Franchised Business is located |
| Litigation count | 18 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two concluded litigation matters disclosed: (1) Purav Enterprises, L.L.C., Balwant Bahia, and Paramjit Samra v. The Extreme Pita Franchising USA, Inc., et al. (Washington Superior Court, Case No. 15-2-15120-7) - Filed June 2015, alleged FIPA violations and misrepresentation regarding franchise financial performance. Settled March 2016 for $20,000. (2) KOHO, Inc. v. Kahala Franchising, L.L.C. (California Superior Court, Case No. BC572565) - Filed February 2015, alleged breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Cross-complaint filed. Bench trial concluded June 2016 with judgment for Kahala. Attorney's fees awarded to Kahala in amount of $205,000. Parties settled in June 2017 with Kahala repurchasing KOHO's Area Developer territory for $75,000.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 75 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 280 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
6 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Sauce Pizza / Wine · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sauce Pizza / Wine franchise?
The total investment to open a Sauce Pizza / Wine franchise ranges from $1.3M – $5.5M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Sauce Pizza / Wine franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Sauce Pizza / Wine FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $2.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Sauce Pizza / Wine's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Sauce Pizza / Wine (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 Sauce Pizza / Wine franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sauce Pizza / Wine has 13 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 13 company-owned units.
Is Sauce Pizza / Wine a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sauce Pizza / Wine as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 37 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.