Vocelli PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Vocelli Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $156K – $598K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $156K – $598K
- 21st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 75
- 70th 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
Each dollar invested generates 3.0x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Only 0.0% of 17 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchising since 1993. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $156K – $598K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 10/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System contracting at -8.6% 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
- Vocelli, LLC
- Parent company
- Ablak Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer
- Toni M. Bianco
- CEO experience
- 22 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- PA
- HQ
- 1005 South Bee Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15220
- Auditor
- Wilke CPAs & Advisors
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $2.9M
- vs $2.9M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Vocelli Pizza franchisees operate quick-service pizza restaurants, managing daily food preparation, customer service, delivery coordination, and order fulfillment. Day-to-day responsibilities include inventory management, staff scheduling, quality control, local marketing, and maintaining compliance with corporate standards while remitting 5% royalties on all gross sales regardless of profitability.
- CEO
- Toni M. Bianco
- Headquarters
- PA
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $25K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $116K | $543K |
| Total initial investment | $156K | $598K |
Source: Vocelli Pizza 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$170K
15.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
43%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
28 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $156K – $598K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $25K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $615 |
| Transfer fee | $6K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 70 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $216K→$1.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $302K→$1.1M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Vocelli Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 75
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 3
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.0%
- Company-owned
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +2.8%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -8.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 6
- Projected new
- 10
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 8.0%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 4.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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
- Maryland
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 17
- Loan volume
- $2.8M
- Median loan
- $50K
- 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
- 6
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Vocelli Pizza's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 5 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 8-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 17 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Vocelli Pizza presents CAUTION-level risk: a stagnant franchise system with undisclosed profitability, going concern questions, recent litigation over royalties, and unprotected territory—requiring extensive franchisee validation before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
Vocelli, LLC v. JAF3, Inc., Adeel Asad and Farhat Seraj (U.S.D.C. E.D.Va., Case No. 1:23-cv-1284). Franchisor sued terminated franchisee and owners for breach of contract, non-compete violations, non-payment of royalties, and failure to honor guarantees. Preliminary injunction granted in December 2023. Settled February 2024 with consent injunction barring defendants from operating competing restaurant within 50 miles for three years (January 17, 2023 to January 17, 2026) and $150,000 settlement payment.
Largest disclosed settlement: $150,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Wilke CPAs & Advisors
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 10 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability or undisclosed operational challenges at corporate level
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — prevents accurate ROI analysis and suggests either poor profitability or corporate unwillingness to share performance data
- 03MINORMinimal unit growth (2.8% YoY) with only 75 locations — stagnant franchise system raises questions about market demand and franchisee satisfaction
- 04HIGHRecent litigation (2023-2024) involving breach of contract, non-compete violations, and royalty non-payment — signals enforceability issues and potential friction in franchisor-franchisee relationships
- 05MINORUnprotected territory — franchisees face direct competition from other Vocelli locations and no contractual protection of their market
- 06MINORWide investment range ($25K-$598K) with vague cost structure — suggests inconsistent unit models or hidden variables affecting startup costs
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 | Delivery Zone |
| Protected territory | No |
| Online sales rights | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 3 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 50 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 60 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Pennsylvania |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Vocelli, LLC v. JAF3, Inc., Adeel Asad and Farhat Seraj (U.S.D.C. E.D.Va., Case No. 1:23-cv-1284). Franchisor sued terminated franchisee and owners for breach of contract, non-compete violations, non-payment of royalties, and failure to honor guarantees. Preliminary injunction granted in December 2023. Settled February 2024 with consent injunction barring defendants from operating competing restaurant within 50 miles for three years (January 17, 2023 to January 17, 2026) and $150,000 settlement payment.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 65 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 180 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 5 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Microworks
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Microworks
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
33 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Vocelli Pizza · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Vocelli Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a Vocelli Pizza franchise ranges from $156K – $598K, 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 Vocelli Pizza franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Vocelli 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 Vocelli Pizza's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Vocelli Pizza has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 17 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 Vocelli Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Vocelli Pizza has 75 total units in the United States, including 74 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Vocelli Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Vocelli Pizza as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 10 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.