Start a Donatos Pizza Franchise in 2026

2026 Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Ranked #315 last year

Initial investment: $542K - $1M

Units as of 2025: 179 5.3% over 3 years

Looking to grab a slice of a hot restaurant franchise opportunity? Donatos might be your chance!

Founded in 1963, Donatos is a pizza maker that has stood the test of time and strives to create consistently delicious pizza. There are several company-owned restaurants across the United States, as well as over 100 franchises. Since beginning to franchise in 1991, Donatos has developed a solid base of loyal customers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Why You May Want to Start a Donatos Franchise

Donatos prides itself on efficient kitchen layouts created in order to maximize sales. As you are planning your restaurant, you can choose add-on options like patios and drive-through windows to streamline your customer service. In addition, Donatos has a great app that makes placing orders as simple as possible. This creates a more enjoyable, faster experience for your clients.

The Donatos menu is continuously innovated in order to meet clients' trends and tastes, encouraging them to come back for more. You will also receive ongoing training and support from the franchise, providing you with a winning recipe and fresh ingredients for your pizza.

You can serve many clients within the Donatos' customer reach, whether they prefer to dine-in, pick-up, or have their pizza delivered to them. The drive-up window and catering during events are options for customers, as well.

What Might Make Donatos Franchise a Good Choice?

Donatos values franchisees who are invested in their communities. They look for franchisees with strong management skills and a passion for pizza and providing quality service. If you fall in this category, Donatos might be a place for you to set up shop.

To make sure you meet the financial requirements for opening a Donatos franchise, be sure to have a secured net worth and liquid capital on hand. Also, be prepared to make an initial investment that will include a franchise fee and additional startup costs. You should be willing to open multiple restaurant locations from the start as a part of your franchise.

Included in the franchise fee is access to the Donatos systems, technology, operational support, building plans, and your own training. The ongoing fees you will pay are a royalty fee, advertising fee, and a National Marketing Fund contribution, which will usually come out of a small percentage of your net sales.

How Do You Open a Donatos Franchise?

During the process, you will have the opportunity to speak to a Donatos Franchise Development team member and get information to guide you in your business decisions. You will likely attend a program review webinar to brief you on the Donatos franchise opportunity, company culture, market, and finances. This is the perfect opportunity to talk about franchise availability in your area, the number of locations you want to open, and the experiences of other franchisees.

The company will invite you to a discovery day at Donatos' headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. This will let you meet the operations team and get hands-on experience at a local Donatos restaurant. If you qualify, you can sign a franchise development agreement and pay the franchise fee.

After this, voilà! You are an official Donatos franchisee! The only thing you'll have left to do is to plan your grand opening.

Company Overview

About Donatos Pizza

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Pizza, Sandwiches
Founded	1963
Parent Company	Donatos Pizzeria LLC
Leadership	Jeff Baldwin, VP, Franchising & Development
Corporate Address	935 Taylor Station Rd. Columbus, OH 43230
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1991 (35 years)
# of employees at HQ	90
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	179 (as of 2025)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Donatos Pizza franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$30,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$541,818 - $1,038,174
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$1,000,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$200,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	20% off first-store franchise fee
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	4%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	5%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Donatos Pizza has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	188 hours
Classroom Training	4 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes