Franchise Facts Report → compare → Scooter's Coffee vs Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen
Scooter's Coffee vs Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen
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.
| Scooter's Coffee | Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen | |
|---|---|---|
| Total initial investment FDD Item 7 | $954,650 – $1,523,400 | $63,097 – $173,097 |
| Initial franchise fee FDD Item 5 | $40,000 | — |
| Royalty FDD Item 6 | 6% | — |
| Item 19 earnings disclosed FDD Item 19 | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Avg unit revenue (headline) FDD Item 19 | in report | — |
| Franchised outlets FDD Item 20 | 825 | 752 |
| Net outlet change (latest yr) FDD Item 20 | +96 | -71 |
| Closure rate FDD Item 20 | 2.7% | — |
| Franchisee lawsuits FDD Item 3 | disclosed | 0 |
| Risk level our read | Low | Medium |
| FDD year registration | 2025 | 2024 |
Are Scooter's Coffee and Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen the same company?
No — Scooter's Coffee and Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen are franchised by separate companies. Scooter's Coffee's franchisor is SCOOTER'S COFFEE LLC; Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen's is Orion Foods Systems, 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 $954,650 – $1,523,400 for Scooter's Coffee.
How much does each make? (Item 19)
Only Scooter's Coffee disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, 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
Scooter's Coffee reports 825 franchised outlets, net change +96 in the latest reported year, a 2.7% closure rate (FDD Item 20). Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen reports 752 franchised outlets, net change -71 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
Scooter's Coffee discloses litigation in FDD Item 3 (case detail in the full report). Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen discloses no franchisee-initiated proceedings in FDD Item 3.
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?
Scooter's Coffee vs Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen — frequently asked
Are Scooter's Coffee and Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen the same company?
No — Scooter's Coffee and Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen are franchised by separate companies. Scooter's Coffee's franchisor is SCOOTER'S COFFEE LLC; Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen's is Orion Foods Systems, 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 Scooter's Coffee and Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen?
Scooter's Coffee and Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen are food & beverage franchises from different franchisors (SCOOTER'S COFFEE LLC and Orion Foods Systems, 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 $954,650 – $1,523,400 for Scooter's Coffee. Only Scooter's Coffee disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, 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 Scooter's Coffee more profitable than Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen?
Only Scooter's Coffee disclosed earnings: it makes an Item 19 financial performance representation, 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 — Scooter's Coffee or Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen?
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 $954,650 – $1,523,400 for Scooter's Coffee.
Is Scooter's Coffee or Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen growing faster?
Scooter's Coffee reports 825 franchised outlets, net change +96 in the latest reported year, a 2.7% closure rate (FDD Item 20). Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen reports 752 franchised outlets, net change -71 in the latest reported year (FDD Item 20).
Go deeper on each brand
Food & beverage rankings
Figures are as disclosed in each brand's most recent registered FDD (Scooter's Coffee 2025, Hot Stuff Pizza/ Hot Stuff Kitchen 2024). “—” means the FDD does not disclose it or the table did not parse cleanly — never an estimate.