Mellow Mushroom franchise
A pizza restaurant serving specialty pizzas, other meals and drinks. At the end of 2025 there were 161 Mellow Mushroom locations in the US, 156 franchised and 5 company-owned.
- Cost to open
- $1.33M–$2.05M
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Royalty
- 5% of gross sales
- Locations, 2025
- 161−8 in 3 yrs
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Company snapshot
- SBA loans
- On the SBA Franchise Directory
From HOMEGROWN INDUSTRIES OF GEORGIA, INC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
How much a Mellow Mushroom franchise costs
Opening Single restaurant costs an estimated $1,330,000 to $2,051,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: HOMEGROWN INDUSTRIES OF GEORGIA, INC, 2026 filing, page 22
Mellow Mushroom franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: HOMEGROWN INDUSTRIES OF GEORGIA, INC, 2026 filing, page 13
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of restaurant gross sales, with a limited opening-period deferral for qualifying new restaurants. |
|---|
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: HOMEGROWN INDUSTRIES OF GEORGIA, INC, 2026 filing, page 14
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Mellow Mushroom publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: HOMEGROWN INDUSTRIES OF GEORGIA, INC, 2026 filing, page 76
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 158 (−6) | 3 | 7 |
| 2024 | 161 (+3) | 4 | 3 |
| 2025 | 156 (−5) | 5 | 5 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
Mellow Mushroom passes four of the five tests on our list of the best franchises to own; it had no more US locations than three years earlier.
Source: HOMEGROWN INDUSTRIES OF GEORGIA, INC, 2026 filing, page 80
How Mellow Mushroom compares
Of the 17 pizza franchises on this site, Mellow Mushroom is the 15th cheapest to open and the 11th largest by number of locations.
| Measure | Mellow Mushroom | Typical pizza |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $1.33M | $547K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5% |
| Closed or left per year | 3.1% | 2.7% |
| Change in franchised locations, 3 yrs | −4.9% | −0.5% |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 12 of 17 |
Typical is the median across the 17 brands in pizza franchises.
