Start a Russo's New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen Franchise in 2025

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $439K - $1.5M

Units as of 2024: 41 6% over 3 years

Russo's New York Pizzeria is an Italian restaurant known for its authentic Italian eateries and pizzerias. The chain serves New York-style pizza and other Italian cuisines, including dessert, calzones, pasta, salads, and soups. The franchise operates under an "if it isn't fresh, don't serve it" motto to serve its customers quality eats.

Anthony Russo's family moved to Galveston, Texas, in 1978. There, his father opened a Russo's Italian restaurant, which thrived in the area. At the age of 12, young Anthony learned the pizza delicacy scachatta and other more complex pizza recipes from his relatives who flew in from Sicily and Naples each summer. Together, they developed a great passion for pizza.

In 1994, Anthony Russo opened Russo's New York Pizzeria, which proved to be a growing model. Today, the chain has expanded to more than 25 franchise units in the United States. There are also multiple international locations. The perfect candidate for a Russo's New York Pizzeria franchisee is result-oriented and has sales or marketing experience, can lead a team, build relationships, and has the desire to excel.

Why You May Want to Open a Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise

As a Russo's New York Pizzeria franchisee, you'll not only be a part of a quick-service restaurant that provides unique, innovative eateries, and pizzerias. You will also likely have someone by your side to guide you every step of your way. A Russo's New York Pizzeria consultant will guide you on things from site selection to grand opening support.

Unlike most of its competitors, Russo's New York Pizzeria is proud to have Italian roots, which they strive to recreate with every customer they serve. Russo's New York Pizzeria is not a typical pizzeria, but an open kitchen concept where relationships are strengthened and family traditions are made.

What Might Make a Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise a Good Choice?

To be part of the Russo's New York Pizzeria team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. You should also be prepared for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

Russo’s New York Pizzeria has partnered with third-party sources that may offer help covering the franchise fee, startup cost, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, and payroll.

Russo's New York Pizzeria is a unique restaurant that can be adaptable to other venues. Its flexible restaurant with a coal-fired kitchen, pizzeria, and pizza kitchen may enable franchisees to choose from a wide range of options for their restaurant's location and size. You can potentially see growth by offering authentic Italian food to customers who opt to dine-in, takeout, deliver, or cater their meals.

How To Open a Russo's New York Pizzeria Franchise

To begin the process of owning a Russo's New York Pizzeria franchise, submit an inquiry form. If approved to continue with the process of opening a franchise, you may receive a call from the franchise to learn more about the business model. Afterward, you may receive their Franchise Disclosure Document, which will give you an in-depth understanding of the business model. A franchise executive will then be in touch with you to review the document and explore franchise location opportunities.

Once you've signed onboard, all franchisees must attend an intensive training program in Houston, Texas. Here you'll learn how to manage Russo's New York Pizzeria daily operations. After the training program, you will be set to get started with your own Russo's New York Pizzeria franchise.

Company Overview

About Russo's New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Pizza Restaurants, Miscellaneous Full-Service Restaurants, Pizza, Italian Restaurants, Food: Full-Service Restaurants
Founded	1994
Parent Company	New York Pizzeria Inc.
Leadership	Anthony Russo, Owner & CEO
Corporate Address	5120 Woodway Dr., #8030 Houston, TX 77056
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1998 (27 years)
# of employees at HQ	9
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US. This company is offering new franchises worldwide.
# of Units	41 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Russo's New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen 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.	$35,000
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.	$439,350 - $1,501,000
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.	$500,000 - $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.	$150,000 - $500,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	$10,000 off 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.	6%
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.	1%-1.5%
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	Russo's New York Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen 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	167-200 hours
Classroom Training	167-200 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection
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?	Yes
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