Start a Ledo Pizza Franchise in 2024

2024 Franchise 500 Rank: #420 Ranked #462 last year

Initial investment: $206K - $673K

Units as of 2024: 119 12.3% over 3 years

Ledo Pizza is a trendsetter in the pizza world, first opening in 1955, making it older than many of the top fast-food pizza chains. While other chains have claimed the title of oldest pizza franchise (Pizza Hut claims the year 1959), there's a simple answer as to why that title doesn’t belong to Ledo Pizza—it wasn’t available as a franchise until 1986. But that technicality doesn't stop them from having years of experience in great flavors.

If you're tired of so-called "premium" pizza that's somehow both soggy and tastes like stale cardboard, you can help bring pizza back to what it should be. With its commitment to providing crisp, ultra-thin crust, sweet sauce, and smoked cheesy goodness, the Ledo Pizza recipe is topped with massive pepperoni. You can bring great pizza to your hometown by opening a Ledo Pizza franchise of your own.

Why You May Want to Start a Ledo Pizza Franchise

There's a lot of care that goes into the food that a Ledo Pizza franchise delivers. Unlike the other big pizza brands, everything is expected to be made to order with the highest quality ingredients available. Even the subs on the menu are made with freshly baked bread. The salad may even be big enough to be a meal on its own. Add this to the pizza's distinct shape and extra thick toppings and no one is likely to confuse pizza from a Ledo Pizza franchise with any other.

It isn’t just the potential for top-notch food that makes a Ledo Pizza franchise a good choice. Franchisees are also offered a robust training program to help in their drive for success. It’s called T.O.M.P., which stands for Technology, Operations, Marketing, and Procurement. All of this training has one overarching goal: to increase guest satisfaction to the maximum, and it works. As a result, franchisees of a Ledo Pizza location can brag about having some of the most loyal customers in the U.S.

What Might Make a Ledo Pizza a Good Choice?

Like any business, there's a range to the initial investment that you'll have to make. That depends on a variety of factors, including restaurant size and location. Ledo Pizza doesn’t offer any financing options, so you will have to secure your own financing or have the liquid assets to cover the cost. You will also need to be prepared to cover startup fees and ongoing fees along with the franchise fee. Ongoing fees will include royalty and advertising fees.

It may be a good idea to contact an attorney or financial advisor in order to ensure that you have the funds necessary to open and operate a Ledo Pizza franchise.

How To Open a Ledo Pizza Franchise

If you've decided to open a Ledo Pizza franchise, then the next step is applying to become a franchisee. Unfortunately, Ledo Pizza is very selective about offering a franchise and cannot offer franchises in all states.

Even if you happen to live somewhere where a Ledo Pizza franchise isn’t available yet, however, you can speak with franchise representatives to learn more about the brand. If Ledo Pizza approves your area, then you may be able to start working on meeting all local requirements and begin training with a franchise representative.

Company Overview

About Ledo Pizza

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Pizza, Food: Quick Service, Italian Restaurants
Founded	1955
Leadership	James Beall, CEO
Corporate Address	41 Old Solomons Island Rd. Annapolis, MD 21401
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1989 (35 years)
# of employees at HQ	22
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises worldwide. 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, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming
# of Units	119 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Ledo 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.	$206,250 - $672,500
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.	5%
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.	2%
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.	5 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

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	94 hours
Classroom Training	46 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation 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
# of employees required to run	40
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