Short answer: it depends (I know, duh). But we can estimate it pretty clearly if we walk through the numbers step by step. I’ll show you how owners usually figure it out, give you simple scenarios, and point you to the official figures so you’re not guessing.
Step 1 — Start with sales (the realistic starting line)
Mountain Mike’s publishes average annual sales from its Franchise Disclosure Document. For 2024, the brand reports:
- System average sales: $1,077,442
- Top 50% average: $1,361,494
- Top 25% average: $1,593,636
Those are store sales, not profit. But it’s the right first number to use.
(There are now roughly ~300 locations, so this isn’t just a handful of outliers.)
Step 2 — Subtract brand fees off the top
Franchise fees come right out of gross sales:
- Royalty: 5% of sales
- Marketing funds: ~3% of sales (1% national + 2% regional)
So, about 8% total goes to the brand every week.
Quick mental math on the $1,077,442 average store:
- 8% of $1,077,442 ≈ $86,195 in annual brand fees.
Step 3 — Estimate the big cost buckets (simple ranges)
Every shop is different, but most pizza operations cluster around these buckets:
- Food & paper (COGS): ~25–30% of sales
- Labor: ~25–32% (higher if you run delivery-heavy or late nights)
- Occupancy (rent/NNN): ~6–10%
- Utilities/repairs/insurance/other: ~8–12%
- Franchise fees: ~8% (you already pulled this out in Step 2)
Across the pizza industry, a net profit (after everything) of ~5–10% is common, with well-run stores reaching low-teens. Use this as your reality check.
Step 4 — Owner-operator vs. semi-absentee
- Owner-operator: You work the store, often replacing a full-time GM. Your take-home is usually the store’s SDE (profit plus the pay you effectively keep by being the manager).
- Semi-absentee/multi-unit: You pay a GM (say $60–$80k). Your profits will be store profit minus that manager cost.
Different paths, different income.
Step 5 — Three quick scenarios (so it’s not abstract)
I’m using the brand’s published sales for 2024 (AUV) and simple margins most owners use when budgeting. These are illustrations, not promises.
A) Base case (average sales store)
- Sales: $1,077,442
- Brand fees (8%): ~$86,195
- After typical costs, expect ~9–12% net → ~$97k–$129k per year.
- Owner-operator who replaces a GM could keep more (because you’re saving that salary).
- Semi-absentee who hires a GM would subtract that GM pay from store profit.
(Why that range? It lines up with common pizza margins and the fee structure above.)
B) Strong performer (top 25% sales)
- Sales: $1,593,636
- Brand fees (8%): ~$127,491
- At ~10–15% net → ~$159k–$239k per year.
- Again, active owners may capture a chunk of manager pay themselves; hands-off owners would pay it out.
Numbers use the brand’s own “top 25%” sales level for 2024.
C) Conservative (tight labor + high costs)
- Same $1,077,442 sales, but with tougher percentages (higher food/labor/occupancy).
- At ~7% net → ~$75k per year.
- With a paid GM on top, that could drop further.
These brackets reflect the spread I see most often in pizza: low single-digit to low-teens net, depending on execution.
Step 6 — What about start-up costs and payback?
Mountain Mike’s lists total investment of roughly $476,500–$982,611 (franchise fee is $30,000). Your personal payback depends on your store’s profit and whether you are an owner-operator or hiring a GM. (Banks will also look at your liquidity and net worth.
A simple (very rough) way owners sanity-check payback is to divide total project cost by expected annual SDE. But please don’t stop there — debt terms, taxes, and multi-unit overhead change the reality a lot.
Step 7 — Make your estimate in 6 easy steps
- Grab the sales number you believe fits your site (use the brand’s AUVs as a guide).
- Subtract 8% for royalty + marketing.
- Apply your cost targets: pick COGS, labor, occupancy, and “other” from the ranges above.
- Decide who runs it: if you hire a GM, subtract that full salary. If you run it, that salary is your pay.
- Check your net % versus the usual pizza ranges (are you inside ~5–10%+?).
- Pressure-test with best/base/worst and make sure you can live with the “worst” for a while.
Micro-tips that move the needle (a lot)
- Watch food costs weekly. Cheese swings can eat your month (literally).
- Labor scheduling: match staffing to real demand, not hope.
- Menu engineering: push high-margin items and smart combos.
- Local marketing: yes, the brand markets — but local outreach (schools, teams, parties) is gold for this concept.
- Delivery and 3P fees: know your channel mix; don’t let fees erase your margin.
Let’s recap!
- What owners make comes from sales minus brand fees minus normal pizza costs.
- Average 2024 sales per store were about $1.08M; top 25% around $1.59M.
- With typical pizza margins (often ~5–10% net, sometimes low-teens), that puts many owners in the ~$75k–$240k range per store, depending on performance and whether they’re active or hands-off.
- Franchise fees are 8% of sales (5% royalty + ~3% marketing).
- Startup investment ranges ~$477k–$983k (project to project).
