Franchise Facts Report → compare → Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen vs Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen vs Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness
Two food & beverage franchises, compared on the numbers their own Franchise Disclosure Documents put on record — investment, fees, Item 19 earnings, outlet churn, and litigation. Not marketing copy.
| Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen | Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness | |
|---|---|---|
| Total initial investment FDD Item 7 | $63,097 – $173,097 | $293,233 – $768,992 |
| Initial franchise fee FDD Item 5 | — | — |
| Royalty FDD Item 6 | — | 6.5% |
| Item 19 earnings disclosed FDD Item 19 | Not disclosed | Yes |
| Avg unit revenue (headline) FDD Item 19 | — | $511,673 |
| Franchised outlets FDD Item 20 | 752 | 546 |
| Net outlet change (latest yr) FDD Item 20 | -71 | +18 |
| Closure rate FDD Item 20 | — | — |
| Franchisee lawsuits FDD Item 3 | 0 | disclosed |
| Risk level our read | Medium | Medium |
| FDD year registration | 2024 | 2024 |
Are Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen and Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness the same company?
No — Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen and Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness are franchised by separate companies. Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen's franchisor is Orion Foods Systems, LLC; Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness's is RITA'S FRANCHISE COMPANY, LLC. Each registers and files its own Franchise Disclosure Document, and you would be signing with a different entity depending on which you chose. Note that a registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent — two brands owned by the same parent company can still have separate franchisors.
Cost to open
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $63,097 – $173,097, against $293,233 – $768,992 for Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness.
How much does each make? (Item 19)
Only Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation (headline average unit revenue $511,673), while Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen's most recent FDD makes none. That asymmetry is itself a data point: one franchisor puts its unit economics on paper, the other doesn't.
Closures & failure rate
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen reports 752 franchised outlets, net change -71 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20). Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness reports 546 franchised outlets, net change +18 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20). Outlet churn — closures, terminations, non-renewals — is the closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate; the full report puts both brands' churn against food & beverage medians.
Litigation
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen discloses no franchisee-initiated proceedings in FDD Item 3. Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness discloses litigation in FDD Item 3 (case detail in the full report).
This page is the headline numbers. The Deep report compares up to three brands on the complete FDD record — every fee line, the actual Item 19 figures and what they represent, each lawsuit, and churn benchmarked against food & beverage peers.
Only looking at one of them?
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen vs Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness — frequently asked
Are Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen and Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness the same company?
No — Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen and Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness are franchised by separate companies. Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen's franchisor is Orion Foods Systems, LLC; Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness's is RITA'S FRANCHISE COMPANY, LLC. Each registers and files its own Franchise Disclosure Document, and you would be signing with a different entity depending on which you chose. Note that a registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent — two brands owned by the same parent company can still have separate franchisors.
What is the difference between Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen and Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness?
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen and Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness are food & beverage franchises from different franchisors (Orion Foods Systems, LLC and RITA'S FRANCHISE COMPANY, LLC). Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $63,097 – $173,097, against $293,233 – $768,992 for Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness. Only Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation (headline average unit revenue $511,673), while Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen's most recent FDD makes none. That asymmetry is itself a data point: one franchisor puts its unit economics on paper, the other doesn't.
Is Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen more profitable than Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness?
Only Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation (headline average unit revenue $511,673), while Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen's most recent FDD makes none. That asymmetry is itself a data point: one franchisor puts its unit economics on paper, the other doesn't.
Which is cheaper to open — Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen or Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness?
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $63,097 – $173,097, against $293,233 – $768,992 for Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness.
Is Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen or Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness growing faster?
Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen reports 752 franchised outlets, net change -71 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20). Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness reports 546 franchised outlets, net change +18 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20).
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Food & beverage rankings
Figures are as disclosed in each brand's most recent registered FDD (Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen 2024, Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness 2024). “—” means the FDD does not disclose it or the table did not parse cleanly — never an estimate.