Straw Hat PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Straw Hat Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $166K – $1.7M, including a $20K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $496K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 33.3% charge-off rate across 20 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $166K – $1.7M
- 23rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $496K
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 27
- 51st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 33.3%
- 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 0.5x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
33.3% of SBA loans charged off across 20 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Bottom line
- Total investment $166K – $1.7M including a $20K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $496K/year (median $456K).
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 33.3% across 20 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System contracting at -6.9% 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
- Straw Hat Restaurants, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chairman of the Board and Acting Chief Executive Officer
- Sal Listek
- CEO experience
- 17 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 11501 Dublin Blvd., Suite 200, Dublin, California 94568
- Auditor
- Baker Tilly US, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $657K
- vs $669K prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate casual/quick-service pizza restaurants under the Straw Hat brand, managing kitchen operations, customer service, inventory, staffing, and local marketing. Daily responsibilities include food preparation, order fulfillment, POS management, and vendor relations within assigned (but unprotected) territories.
- CEO
- Sal Listek
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2006
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $20K | $20K | |
| Initial Real Estate costs Leased | $8K | $20K | |
| Construction & Leasehold Improvements | $30K | $750K | |
| Utility Deposits | $4K | $70K | |
| Equipment & Fixtures | $60K | $250K | |
| Exterior Signage | $3K | $30K | |
| Computer System | $8K | $25K | |
| Initial Inventory and Supplies | $6K | $12K | |
| Business Licenses, Permits | $4K | $125K | |
| Insurance General | $7K | $15K | |
| Travel/Room & Board for Training | $1K | $5K | |
| Opening Ad & Promotional Costs | $10K | $10K | |
| Outdoor Patio Area (optional) | $0 | $30K | |
| Food Truck or Trailer (optional) | $0 | $250K | |
| Additional Funds | $5K | $50K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Multi-Unit Development Agreement, 3 units) | $30K | $30K | |
| Cost to develop one Straw Hat Pizza restaurant (less initial franchise fee) - Multi-Unit | $146K | $1.6M | |
| Total initial investment | $341K | $3.3M |
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
$74K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
8%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
12.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $166K – $1.7M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- Greater of 4% of Adjusted Gross Sales
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $5K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $496K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $456K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 22 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $129K→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.5x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Straw Hat Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 27
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 3.7%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -6.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 7.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 3.7%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 3.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 20
- Loan volume
- $7.3M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 33.3%
- 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)
- 61.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 15
- Defaults
- 5
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Straw Hat 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 3 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 14-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 33.3% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Small, stagnant franchise system with non-disclosed profitability, unprotected territories, and unclear cost structures creates moderate-to-high execution risk.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Baker Tilly US, LLP
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: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 — unable to validate actual profitability against $165,500–$1,662,000 investment range
- 02MINOROnly 27 units with unknown growth trajectory — suggests stagnant or declining system (mature brands typically have 100+ units)
- 03MINORNo protected territory — franchisees compete directly with other Straw Hat locations and corporate stores
- 04MINORWide investment variance ($165,500–$1,662,000) indicates inconsistent unit economics and unclear cost structure
- 05MINORRoyalty tied to 'Adjusted Gross Sales' (undefined term) — potential for disputes over what counts toward 4% fee
- 06MEDAverage revenue of $496,214 is modest for pizza — suggests below-average unit volumes or limited marketing support
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 |
| Territory type | Assigned delivery area |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 70 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 110 hrs
- Training location
- At a Straw Hat Restaurant designated by the Franchisor
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 144 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Straw Hat Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Straw Hat Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Straw Hat Pizza franchise ranges from $166K – $1.7M, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Straw Hat Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Straw Hat Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $496K. The median is $456K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Straw Hat Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Straw Hat Pizza has a charge-off rate of 33.3% across 20 loans, meaning 33.3% 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 Straw Hat Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Straw Hat Pizza has 27 total units in the United States, including 27 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Straw Hat Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Straw Hat Pizza as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 68 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.