Toppers PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Toppers Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $484K – $719K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 79 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $484K – $719K
- 80th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 37th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 40th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 71
- 69th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- 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
Only 0.0% of 79 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 2000. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $484K – $719K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M), with an estimated 12% cash-on-cash return.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 16/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 79 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Toppers Pizza LLC
- Parent company
- Toppers Pizza Holdings LLC
- Ultimate parent
- GITCO HOLDINGS Inc.
- Incorporated in
- WI
- HQ
- 333 West Center Street, Whitewater, WI 53190
- Auditor
- Quandt Berndt & Company, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $9.6M
- vs $10.6M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Affiliated brands
- Pizza People
- develops
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Toppers Pizza franchisees operate quick-service pizza restaurants, managing daily food preparation, customer service, delivery coordination, and staff oversight. Franchisees handle inventory management, local marketing, and P&L responsibility while adhering to brand standards for menu, pricing, and operations.
- CEO
- Adam Oldenburg
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 1992
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 10
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 30 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area Development Feenot refundable | $40K | $70K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) - Area Development | — | — | |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Travel & Living Expenses for Your Initial Training | $3K | $14K | |
| Travel & Living Expenses for Our Training Team | $600 | $11K | |
| Equipment & Smallwares | $125K | $155K | |
| Construction & Leasehold Improvements | $240K | $325K | |
| Indoor & Outdoor Signage | $8K | $11K | |
| Pre-opening Salaries & Payroll | $6K | $11K | |
| Pre-opening Rent | $0 | $12K | |
| Utility & Insurance Deposits | $2K | $6K | |
| Initial Marketing and Market Introduction and Team Recruiting Program | $4K | $20K | |
| Opening Inventory | $6K | $11K | |
| Architectural Fees | $13K | $20K | |
| Permits and Professional Fees | $2K | $5K | |
| POS System Hardware | $16K | $18K | |
| POS System Software Licenses | $3K | $3K | |
| POS System Installation | $2K | $5K | |
| Project Management | $0 | $8K | |
| Opening Extension Fee | $0 | $5K | |
| Total initial investment | $648K | $3.0M |
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
$151K
13.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
24%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $484K – $719K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $50K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 8.2 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $11K |
| Total fee load | 8.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
- Avg net income
- $73K
- Cash-on-cash
- 12.2%
- Based on Net Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 69 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $556K→$2.2M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Toppers Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 71
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Turnover rate
- 2.8%
- Company-owned
- 27
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 62%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -4.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 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
- 79
- Loan volume
- $32.9M
- Median loan
- $325K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 26
- Defaults
- 0
Vintage analysis
Toppers Pizza charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Toppers 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 9 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 20-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 79 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit count, lack of verified financial data, and thin margins create meaningful execution risk despite no litigation history.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Quandt Berndt & Company, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 16 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 4.3% YoY (71 units) — indicates system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02HIGHNo Item 19 financial performance representation (Going Concern = False) — cannot validate the $1.11M avg revenue claim independently
- 03MINORThin profit margins: $73,386 net income on $1.11M revenue (6.6% net) leaves little buffer for underperformers or economic downturns
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($484K-$718K) paired with declining unit count raises ROI sustainability questions
- 05MINOR5.5% royalty on gross sales (not net) means franchisees pay royalties even in loss-making months
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 | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Wisconsin |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 11 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 267 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- PiZMET
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: PiZMET
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
54 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Toppers Pizza · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Toppers Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Toppers Pizza franchise ranges from $484K – $719K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Toppers Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Toppers Pizza FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Toppers Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Toppers Pizza has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 79 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Toppers Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Toppers Pizza has 71 total units in the United States, including 44 franchised units and 27 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Toppers Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Toppers Pizza as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 16 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.