Giordano’s^®

Food & Beverage • Year: 2025

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What Is Giordano’s?

Giordano’s is a restaurant franchise specializing in stuffed deep-dish and thin-crust pizza, along with pasta, sandwiches, salads and other related Italian-style menu items. The business operates via dine-in (including bar seating), carry-out and delivery channels, and may offer catering when authorized. Franchisees must follow the franchisor’s alcoholic beverage program and obtain licenses to serve alcohol on the premises, making on-premises alcohol sales a significant revenue stream.

Giordano’s Franchise: Pros and Cons

The franchise delivers unusually thorough preparation — a 100 Training and Support score with 320 hours of initial training and $0 reported training fees — but it also requires $239,000 in minimum assets (top 10%), meaning significantly higher upfront cash before opening.

Pros

A 100 Training & Support score combined with 320 hours of initial training and $0 reported training fees is well above the industry norm, meaning you get unusually thorough preparation without added training charges before opening.

Zero disclosed lawsuits, zero franchisee-initiated judgments or settlements, and no government penalties is well below what you see in Food & Beverage systems, giving the brand a clean legal and regulatory record that lowers legal risk.

A Franchisee Right of First Refusal is in place (uncommon in this sector), which gives you priority to buy nearby or neighboring locations and preserves upside on local expansion or exit value.

Cons

Item 7 minimum assets of $239,000 is well above typical (top 10%), increasing the upfront equipment/fixtures cash you must have before you can open.

A 10% Manager Required Equity percentage is well above typical for Food & Beverage (top 10%), meaning managers are expected to hold a larger ownership stake and your internal equity requirements will be higher.

28 company-owned units is unusually high for a system of this size (top 10%), which warrants investigating whether growth is being driven more by corporate locations than by a commitment to expanding the franchise base.

Lawsuits & Legal Risk

100

Excellent

The franchise reported no material legal proceedings.

Territory Protection

50/100

NORMAL

Grants a protected operating area where the franchisor will not place other physical units. Franchisor retains rights to sell via e-commerce and alternative distribution channels, to acquire/convert nearby units under different trademarks, and to condition protections on meeting performance quotas; the franchisee retains site-specific relocation rights and a ROFR.

Training & Support

100

Excellent

The brand provides a comprehensive 320-hour training curriculum designed to prepare franchisee staff for launch; the initial franchise fee does not include any trainees in the program. The program includes on-site launch support focused on operational readiness, with on-site assistance available at additional cost and travel and lodging expenses borne by the franchisee.

Unit Growth Analysis

This franchise is in a declining but decelerating trajectory: total units fell from 70 (2022) to 65 (2023), 62 (2024) and 60 (2025), with annual losses of -5, -3 and -2 units respectively. For investors this signals weakened franchise health—net closures each year—but improving stabilization efforts, as the year-over-year decline has eased from -7.14% in 2023 to -4.62% in 2024 and -3.23% in 2025 (a 3.91 percentage-point improvement), suggesting risk remains until net growth turns positive.

How Much Does It Cost to Open a Giordano’s Franchise?

Opening a Giordano’s franchise requires a total initial investment of $609,000 to $973,000, according to the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. This range covers the franchise fee, real estate, equipment, training, and initial working capital needed to launch and operate through the early months.

Minimum Investment

$609,000

Franchise Fee

Real Estate

Equipment & Assets

Reserves

Training

Other

Maximum Investment

$973,000

Minimum Investment Breakdown

Franchise Fee$40,000

Real Estate$280,000

Equipment & Assets$239,000

Reserves$5,000

Training$0

Other$45,000

Maximum Investment Breakdown

Franchise Fee$40,000

Real Estate$473,000

Equipment & Assets$395,000

Reserves$10,000

Training$0

Other$55,000

Investment Analysis

This investment analysis is coming soon. Have ideas for other analyses you'd like us to add? Get in touch.

The initial investment amounts shown are estimates only. Actual costs may vary based on location size, business model, and multi-unit ownership arrangements. We recommend reviewing the full Franchise Disclosure Document for complete details.

How Much Do Giordano’s Franchise Owners Make?

Average Gross Sales:

N/A

Median Gross Sales:

N/A

Sample Size:

Percent Attaining Average:

40.0%

Franchise vs Corporate Performance: Company-owned full-service restaurants report substantially higher average gross revenues in some Chicagoland segments than franchised full-service restaurants, indicating company locations in those segments historically generated more revenue on average.

Performance Variability Analysis: Franchised units show notable variability across segments, with subgroup minimums and maximums spanning from under 700000 to over 4 million, suggesting location and format materially affect revenue outcomes.

Data Scope and Limitations: The franchised figures are unaudited, provided by franchisees, and exclude cost and expense information, so these gross revenue figures cannot be used to determine net income or assured future performance.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to open a Giordano’s franchise?

The total initial investment for a Giordano’s franchise ranges from $609,000 to $973,000, according to the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. This includes the franchise fee, real estate, equipment, training, and working capital.

What is the Giordano’s initial franchise fee?

The initial franchise fee for Giordano’s is $40,000, as stated in the 2025 FDD. This fee is paid upon signing the Franchise Agreement.

Does Giordano’s have any franchise lawsuits or legal issues?

Giordano’s received a legal risk score of 100 out of 100 in the 2025 FDD analysis. The franchise reported no material legal proceedings.

Does Giordano’s offer exclusive franchise territories?

Giordano’s received a territory protection score of 50 out of 100. Grants a protected operating area where the franchisor will not place other physical units.

What training does Giordano’s provide to new franchisees?

Giordano’s received a training and support score of 100 out of 100. The brand provides a comprehensive 320-hour training curriculum designed to prepare franchisee staff for launch; the initial franchise fee does not include any trainees in the program.

How many Giordano’s franchise locations are there?

Giordano’s had 60 total locations as of the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document.

What type of business is Giordano’s?

Giordano’s is a restaurant franchise specializing in stuffed deep-dish and thin-crust pizza, along with pasta, sandwiches, salads and other related Italian-style menu items.

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