Franchise opportunities compared
California Pizza Kitchen vs The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.
Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.
Before you compare
- Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
- California Pizza Kitchen and The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. disclose more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
- Only The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. has reviewed Item 19 figures here.
| Disclosure | CPCalifornia Pizza Kitchen |  The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $28,000 – $5,377,500 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $5,000 – $1,797,654 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $50,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 11 | $20 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 14 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $5.00 Royalty 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 | $5.00 ITEM 6. OTHER FEES Type of Fee 1 Amount Due Date Remarks Royalty and Service Fee 2 — 5% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $1.00 Brand fund current 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 12 | $3.00 he Royalty and Service Fee payments. Brand Development Contribution — “BDF”). 2 Up to — 3% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 121 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 50 | 93 Outlets at end of 2026 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 52 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −27 Calculated: 148 at end of 2023 → 121 at end of 2025 | +1 Calculated: 92 at end of 2024 → 93 at end of 2026 |
| Outlet exits (Item 20) | Not available No complete exit records for a year | Not available No complete exit records for a year |
| Franchising since (Item 1) | 2022 From a verified franchisor listing | 1984 From a verified franchisor listing |
| Franchisor founded (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Performance (Item 19) | ||
| Financial performance (Item 19), by location group | Not disclosed — no Item 19 financial performance representation | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised Top Third 12 restaurants other Franchised Top Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised Middle Third 14 restaurants other Franchised Middle Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised Bottom Third $1,570,349 other Franchised Bottom Third · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50 +5 more groups in the full report |
Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.