Franchise Facts Report → compare → Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's vs Fatburger
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's vs Fatburger
Two quick-service restaurant 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.
| Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's | Fatburger | |
|---|---|---|
| Total initial investment FDD Item 7 | $206,900 – $951,000 | $517,300 – $2,656,900 |
| Initial franchise fee FDD Item 5 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| Royalty FDD Item 6 | 5% | 6% |
| Item 19 earnings disclosed FDD Item 19 | Not disclosed | Yes |
| Avg unit revenue (headline) FDD Item 19 | — | in report |
| Franchised outlets FDD Item 20 | 197 | 177 |
| Net outlet change (latest yr) FDD Item 20 | +40 | -9 |
| Closure rate FDD Item 20 | — | — |
| Franchisee lawsuits FDD Item 3 | 0 | disclosed |
| Risk level our read | Medium | — |
| FDD year registration | 2025 | 2025 |
Are Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's and Fatburger the same company?
No — Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's and Fatburger are franchised by separate companies. Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's's franchisor is Sbarro Franchise Co., LLC; Fatburger's is FATBURGER NORTH AMERICA, INC.. 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
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $206,900 – $951,000, against $517,300 – $2,656,900 for Fatburger.
How much does each make? (Item 19)
Only Fatburger disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's'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
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's reports 197 franchised outlets, net change +40 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20). Fatburger reports 177 franchised outlets, net change -9 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 quick-service restaurant medians.
Litigation
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's discloses no franchisee-initiated proceedings in FDD Item 3. Fatburger 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 quick-service restaurant peers.
Only looking at one of them?
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's vs Fatburger — frequently asked
Are Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's and Fatburger the same company?
No — Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's and Fatburger are franchised by separate companies. Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's's franchisor is Sbarro Franchise Co., LLC; Fatburger's is FATBURGER NORTH AMERICA, INC.. 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 Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's and Fatburger?
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's and Fatburger are quick-service restaurant franchises from different franchisors (Sbarro Franchise Co., LLC and FATBURGER NORTH AMERICA, INC.). Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $206,900 – $951,000, against $517,300 – $2,656,900 for Fatburger. Only Fatburger disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's'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 Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's more profitable than Fatburger?
Only Fatburger disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, while Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's'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 — Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's or Fatburger?
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's is the cheaper franchise to open: its FDD Item 7 puts the total initial investment at $206,900 – $951,000, against $517,300 – $2,656,900 for Fatburger.
Is Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's or Fatburger growing faster?
Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's reports 197 franchised outlets, net change +40 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20). Fatburger reports 177 franchised outlets, net change -9 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20).
Go deeper on each brand
Quick-service restaurant rankings
Figures are as disclosed in each brand's most recent registered FDD (Cafe Sbarro | Carmela's of Brooklyn | Cucinova | La Cucina Di Capri | Mama Sbarro | Sbarro | Sbarro Fresh Italian Cooking | Sbarro the Best Italian Choice | Sbarro the Italian Eatery | Tony & Bruno's | Umberto's 2025, Fatburger 2025). “—” means the FDD does not disclose it or the table did not parse cleanly — never an estimate.