Are there any Carbones Pizzeria franchisees who do not pay an 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, while franchisees typically pay an advertising fee, there are exceptions. The standard advertising fee is 1% of monthly Gross Sales, but only up to $2,000,000 in annual gross sales. Any gross sales exceeding $2,000,000 in a year are not subject to the advertising fee.
Importantly, the FDD states that at least one franchisee does not pay the advertising fee at all, and another has a threshold lower than $2,000,000 for ceasing payments. This indicates that Carbones Pizzeria has the flexibility to negotiate different advertising fee arrangements with individual franchisees.
For a prospective franchisee, this means there might be room to negotiate the terms of the advertising fee. However, it's essential to understand the specific circumstances of the existing franchisees with different arrangements and whether those conditions could apply to a new franchisee. It would be prudent to discuss this with the franchisor during the due diligence process to clarify the potential for any deviation from the standard advertising fee structure.