Does the Carbones Pizzeria company-owned restaurant also pay the 1% advertising fee?
Carbones_Pizzeria Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
your Restaurant.
Carbone's Pizza Advertising Fund.
You must pay an advertising fee of 1% of your monthly Gross Sales up to $2,000,000. There is no advertising fee on Gross Sales over $2,000,000 in any given year. Funds are collected and maintained in a separate bank account from our general operating funds. Our company-owned Restaurant also pays the 1% advertising fee to the fund. There is one franchisee who does not pay an advertising fee and one
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 15–19)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Carbones Pizzeria Franchise Disclosure Document, the company-owned restaurant does pay into the advertising fund. Franchisees must pay an advertising fee of 1% of monthly Gross Sales up to $2,000,000. There is no advertising fee on Gross Sales over $2,000,000 in any given year.
The advertising funds are used to develop marketing and advertising programs that benefit the Carbones Pizzeria brand. These programs may include consumer advertising, marketing-related technology platforms, local, regional, or national media, internet web pages, direct mail campaigns, public relations, market research, and other advertising and marketing activities.
While the FDD states that the company-owned restaurant pays the advertising fee, it also notes that there is one franchisee who does not pay an advertising fee and one whose threshold to cease payments is less than $2,000,000. This indicates that there may be exceptions or special cases regarding advertising fee obligations within the Carbones Pizzeria franchise system. As a prospective franchisee, it would be prudent to inquire about the specific criteria or circumstances that might lead to deviations from the standard advertising fee policy.