We, The PizzaFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A We, The Pizza franchise requires a total initial investment of $673K – $896K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. The 2023 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2023 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $673K – $896K
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 24th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 4
- 10th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-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
Franchised units fell from 3 to 2 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $673K – $896K including a $50K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 84/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- We the Pizza Franchising LLC
- Ultimate parent
- We the Pizza International, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Harvey H. Mendelsohn
- CEO experience
- 2011 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 1655 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 700, Arlington, VA 22209
- Auditor
- Matthews, Carter & Boyce
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $183K
- vs $275K prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate We, The Pizza restaurant locations, managing day-to-day pizza preparation, customer service, inventory management, and staff scheduling. They are responsible for local marketing, rent, utilities, and payroll while paying 5.5% of gross sales to the franchisor for brand support, training, and operational guidance.
- CEO
- Harvey H. Mendelsohn
- Headquarters
- VA
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50K | $50K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $598K | $796K |
| Total initial investment | $673K | $896K |
Source: We, The Pizza 2023 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $673K – $896K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $6K |
| Training fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $30K |
| Renewal fee | $25K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How We, The Pizza Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 4
- Opened
- 0
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 50%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +50.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
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.
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
- $315K
- Median loan
- $315K
- 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
- 1
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into We, The 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
We, The Pizza presents HIGH RISK due to going concern status, microscopic unit count, missing financial disclosures, and unprotected territory—typical of early-stage or failing franchise systems.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Matthews, Carter & Boyce
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 84 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern warning indicates potential financial instability of franchisor
- 02MEDOnly 4 units systemwide suggests minimal scale, limited support infrastructure, and high failure risk
- 03MINORNo Item 19 (average revenue/net income) disclosure prevents ROI validation on $673k-$895.5k investment
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees or franchisor-owned locations
- 05MEDNo disclosed unit growth trajectory raises questions about system viability and franchisee success rates
- 06MINORUnknown franchisee retention/failure rates with only 4 units suggests either recent launches or significant attrition
- 07MINORHigh initial investment relative to system size increases financial risk if franchisor support collapses
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 | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 5 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Arlington, Virginia |
| Governing law | Virginia |
| 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
- 68 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 110 hrs
- Training location
- headquarters
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Foodtec Solutions Inc.
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Foodtec Solutions Inc.
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
18 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
We, The Pizza · FDD (2023) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a We, The Pizza franchise?
The total investment to open a We, The Pizza franchise ranges from $673K – $896K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do We, The Pizza franchise owners earn?
We, The Pizza does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is We, The Pizza's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for We, The 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 We, The Pizza franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, We, The Pizza has 4 total units in the United States, including 3 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is We, The Pizza a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates We, The Pizza as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 84 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.