Capriotti's Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Capriotti's franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Capriotti's discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses 2024 gross sales (avg $835K franchised, $965K affiliate) and affiliate P&L with EBITDA. No franchisee net income shown; affiliate stores are Nevada-clustered mature markets, cherry-picking best-performing corporate units.
What a Capriotti's franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 7% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 9% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $594,700 – $935,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 6% for 3+ units via DRA; ad fund up to 4% but currently 2%; tech fee 0.65% not yet charged.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Capriotti's system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 153 |
| Ceased operations | 16 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 2 |
| Closure rate | 10.5% of outlets |
16 franchised locations permanently closed in 2024 alone; net franchised count fell by 5.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Capriotti's worth it? — how it compares to 22 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 9% of sales | about average |
| Startup cost | from $594,700 | about average (median $436,176) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 10.5% of outlets | worse than 83% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every sandwich & sub shops franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Capriotti's
The franchisor's framing: Discloses 2024 gross sales (avg $835K franchised, $965K affiliate) and affiliate P&L with … We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Capriotti's franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Capriotti's franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $594,700–$935,000, including a $40,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Capriotti's franchise owners make?
- Discloses 2024 gross sales (avg $835K franchised, $965K affiliate) and affiliate P&L with EBITDA. No franchisee net income shown; affiliate stores are Nevada-clustered mature markets, cherry-picking best-performing corporate units. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Capriotti's franchise fees?
- Capriotti's FDD discloses a $40,000 initial franchise fee, a 7% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 9% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 6% for 3+ units via DRA; ad fund up to 4% but currently 2%; tech fee 0.65% not yet charged.
- What is the Capriotti's franchise profit margin?
- Capriotti's does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses 2024 gross sales (avg $835K franchised, $965K affiliate) and affiliate P&L with EBITDA. No franchisee net income shown; affiliate stores are Nevada-clustered mature markets, cherry-picking best-performing corporate units. Recurring fees alone take about 9% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Capriotti's franchise failure rate?
- 16 franchised locations permanently closed in 2024 alone; net franchised count fell by 5.
- How many Capriotti's locations are there?
- Capriotti's FDD reports 153 total outlets, with 16 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 2 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Capriotti's have complaints or lawsuits?
- Capriotti's discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Capriotti's franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Capriotti's scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 9% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Capriotti's to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 34668-202508-02 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Capriotti's or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.