Timber PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Timber Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $623K – $1.0M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $623K – $1.0M
- 88th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 8
- 31st pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
28% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $623K – $1.0M including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.5M/year, with an estimated 28% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 47/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Timber Pizza Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Timber Pizza Company, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- LIFR Acquisition Company LLC
- CEO title
- CEO
- Luke Watson
- CEO experience
- 3 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DC
- HQ
- 809 Upshur St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20011
- Auditor
- CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $63K
- vs $146K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Affiliated brands
- Timber Pizza IP Co
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service or casual dining pizza restaurants under the Timber Pizza brand, managing daily kitchen operations, customer service, inventory, and staff. They handle food preparation, delivery logistics (if applicable), and local marketing while paying ongoing 6% royalty fees to the franchisor.
- CEO
- Luke Watson
- Founded
- 2014
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $40K | $40K | |
| Training Fee | $8K | $8K | |
| Initial Merchandise Package | $1K | $5K | |
| Your Training Expenses | $10K | $15K | |
| Lease & Utilities Deposits | $12K | $25K | |
| Facility Occupancy | $15K | $25K | |
| Design and Architectural Fees | $17K | $38K | |
| Leasehold Improvements, Construction and/or Remodeling | $250K | $480K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $200K | $275K | |
| Signage | $5K | $12K | |
| Business Licenses and Permits | $4K | $9K | |
| Computer Systems/ POS | $4K | $6K | |
| Initial Inventory | $9K | $15K | |
| Professional Fees | $3K | $12K | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $5K | $15K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $8K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $40K | $60K | |
| Total initial investment | $623K | $1.0M |
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
$218K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
25%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $623K – $1.0M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $60K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 47.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.6 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $40 |
| Training fee | $8K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $10 |
| Total fee load | 47.0% of rev |
At 47.0% total fee load, roughly $684K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $234K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 28.0%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate and Franchised
- Sample size
- 4 units
- vs category median 28 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $915K→$2.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $915K→$1.4M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Timber Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 8
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 88%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +75.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Last reporting year only, multi-year history not disclosed in this brand's FDD.
Item 20 · 16 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- California
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New York
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $676K
- Median loan
- $676K
- 50th percentile
- 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
- 1
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Timber Pizza's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 1 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 1 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 1-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage pizza franchise with explosive growth claims, no audited financials disclosure, and insufficient operating history to validate profitability assertions.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 47 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHNo Item 19 financial performance representations (Going Concern: False) limits ability to validate claimed $233K average net income
- 02MINORExtremely aggressive unit growth (75% YoY with only 8 units) suggests new franchise with unproven model and high churn risk
- 03MINORInvestment range requires $623K-$1.047M with only $40K franchise fee, indicating high capex/buildout costs with unclear ROI timeline
- 04MINOR6% royalty on $1.34M revenue = $80K+ annual fee, reducing net margin significantly if actual earnings differ from stated averages
- 05MINORMicroscopic franchisee base (8 units) makes performance claims statistically unreliable and creates concentration risk
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Zip Codes |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | District of Columbia |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | District of Columbia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 15 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 88 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and at franchisor location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 11 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- iPad
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: iPad
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Timber Pizza · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Timber Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Timber Pizza franchise ranges from $623K – $1.0M, 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 Timber Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Timber Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Timber Pizza's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Timber Pizza (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 Timber Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Timber Pizza has 8 total units in the United States. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Timber Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Timber Pizza as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 47 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 Timber 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.