Carbone's Pizza Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Carbone's Pizza franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Carbone's Pizza discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
31 franchised restaurants' 12-month gross sales by model (Fast Casual avg $582,861, Express avg $388,601, Full-Service avg $1,273,066). Only 17-35% met/exceeded averages. Excludes alcohol, operating costs.
What a Carbone's Pizza franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 3.33% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 1% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 4.33% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $328,600 – $909,250 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Tiered royalty: 4% first $1M, 3% next $1M, 2% above. 1% advertising capped at $2M sales.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Carbone's Pizza system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 33 |
| Ceased operations | 1 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 3.0% of outlets |
4 outlet closures in 3 years; declining system (37→33 outlets). Low transfer activity.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Carbone's Pizza worth it? — how it compares to 38 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 4.33% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $328,600 | cheaper than most (median $380,000) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 3.0% of outlets | worse than 72% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every pizza franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Carbone's Pizza
The franchisor's framing: 31 franchised restaurants' 12-month gross sales by model (Fast Casual avg $582,861, Expres… 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
Carbone's Pizza franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Carbone's Pizza franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $328,600–$909,250, including a $25,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Carbone's Pizza franchise owners make?
- 31 franchised restaurants' 12-month gross sales by model (Fast Casual avg $582,861, Express avg $388,601, Full-Service avg $1,273,066). Only 17-35% met/exceeded averages. Excludes alcohol, operating costs. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Carbone's Pizza franchise fees?
- Carbone's Pizza's FDD discloses a $25,000 initial franchise fee, a 3.33% royalty on gross sales, a 1% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 4.33% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Tiered royalty: 4% first $1M, 3% next $1M, 2% above. 1% advertising capped at $2M sales.
- What is the Carbone's Pizza franchise profit margin?
- Carbone's Pizza does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: 31 franchised restaurants' 12-month gross sales by model (Fast Casual avg $582,861, Express avg $388,601, Full-Service avg $1,273,066). Only 17-35% met/exceeded averages. Excludes alcohol, operating costs. Recurring fees alone take about 4.33% 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 Carbone's Pizza franchise failure rate?
- 4 outlet closures in 3 years; declining system (37→33 outlets). Low transfer activity.
- How many Carbone's Pizza locations are there?
- Carbone's Pizza's FDD reports 33 total outlets, with 1 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Carbone's Pizza have complaints or lawsuits?
- Carbone's Pizza 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 Carbone's Pizza franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Carbone's Pizza scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 4.33% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Carbone's Pizza to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Carbone's Pizza or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.