FranchiseVerdict
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FV-02242·MODERATEStandard71

Sbarro

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2014Website
Investment
$100K – $1.1M
6th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
5.0%
15th pct Full Service
Units
371
93rd pct Full Service
SBA default
0.0%
vs <3% typical

Bottom line

  • Total investment $100K – $1.1M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 11 loans (below the industry average).
  • System contracting at -10.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Sbarro Franchise Co., LLC
Parent company
SBARRO Holdings, Inc.
Incorporated in
Delaware
HQ
1328 Dublin Road, Columbus, OH 43215
Auditor
Schneider Downs & Co., Inc.
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$134.4M
vs $135.2M prior year

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 Sbarro unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $100K–$1.1M
Working capital
$
FDD reports $10K–$15K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

20%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$120K
EBITDA margin
16.0%
Total invested
$595K
Payback
60 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.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate casual dining locations serving Sbarro's signature Sicilian pizza, pasta, salads, and beverages. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen staff, food preparation, inventory control, customer service, and maintenance of quick-service or traditional restaurant environments across mall, street, or airport locations.

CEO
J. David Karam
Founded
1956
FDD year
2025
States available
41

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$100K – $1.1M
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$10K – $15K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$30K
Royalty
5.0%
Gross Revenues · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
7.0%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
371
Opened
31
Last reporting year
Closed
33
Turnover rate
8.9%
Company-owned
151
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
59%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
-11.3%
Net unit change last year
3-yr CAGR
-10.5%
Compounded over last 3 years
2023
197-2
Franchised units
2024
222
Franchised units
2025
220
Franchised units

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

Item 20 · 17 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 · 17 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
11
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

63
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE63 / 100

Sbarro presents HIGH RISK due to negative unit growth, missing financial disclosures, unprotected territory, and undisclosed going concern issues that obscure true franchisee profitability and system viability.

Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDSignificant unit decline of -11.3% YoY indicates systemic contraction and weakening franchise system health
  2. 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosure (missing Item 19) prevents accurate ROI assessment and profitability validation
  3. 03MINORNo protected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees and company-owned locations within same market
  4. 04HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE, suggesting potential financial instability or restructuring concerns at corporate level
  5. 05MINORHigh initial investment range ($99,900-$1,066,000) paired with no performance data creates extreme financial exposure uncertainty
  6. 06MINORDeclining unit count suggests existing franchisees are not renewing or are closing locations profitably

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

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

Contract & Territory Detail

Protected territory
No
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
5 years
Online sales rights
Restricted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Not allowed
Litigation count
0
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
Ohio

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
0 hrs
On-the-job training
150 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

86 numbers

Locked
(515) 281-••••
OR
(559) 553-••••
VA
(608) 267-••••
WI

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Sbarro · FDD (2025) PDF

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