Painting with a Twist ranked No. 1 in our category

Who says we’re the best paint and sip franchise? Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500, for starters

There’s always some subjectivity involved when you claim to be the best at something, but in the case of Painting with a Twist — we really do have something concrete backing up our claim of being the best paint and sip franchise.

The prestigious annual Franchise 500 ranking in Entrepreneur magazine has named us the best in the paint and sip franchise category for six consecutive years — 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. It’s a distinction we’re quite proud of.

We were the nation’s original paint and sip franchise, and we are currently the largest, with approximately 300 studios open or under development in 39 states. Being included in the Franchise 500 ranking is significant, since Entrepreneur magazine bases the rankings on a number of criteria. Each franchise company is measured for outstanding performance in the areas of financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the franchise system, among others. 

“We are honored to be named as the number one paint and sip franchise,” says CEO Joe Lewis. “The Franchise 500 is considered the gold standard in the franchise industry, and we are continuously working to maintain our position.

“Our dedicated franchise owners, artists and guests are the building blocks of this company, and we 

have so much to look forward to in the coming year as we continue to expand both our footprint and our guest experience.”

Our growth strategy

This year, we’re working on continued growth — with a twist. We’re helping our early franchise owners achieve their exit strategy goals by attracting quality candidates to resale opportunities. 

Our goals are to add 12-15 new studios in 2019. Look for us to emerge in new markets this year as we expand westward and fill gaps in our already developing states. In addition, we will continue to attract multi-unit operators as our model for success is scalable.

The Painting with a Twist experience

Painting with a Twist was founded by Cathy Deano and Renee Maloney in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as a way to create an escape from the daily grind for those in the New Orleans area. Since Painting with a Twist started franchising in 2009, guests have created more than 10 million paintings at our studios nationwide. 

The popularity of the concept has spread across the country as guests learned how much fun it was to come together for a unique experience that includes friends, creativity and the option to BYOB. Led by local artists, guests use paint, canvas and brushes provided by the studio. With more than 15,000 original pieces of copyrighted works in our art library, guests are always able to find something they love to paint, ranging from landscapes, abstracts and cityscapes to creative renderings of animals, iconic buildings and florals.

Painting with a Twist maintains a strong focus on giving back to the local community. Our charitable arm, Painting with a Purpose, raises money for local charities through monthly events at all locations, and we hit the $5 million mark in donations this year. We were recently recognized by the International Franchise Association’s Franchising Gives Back Awards. 

Learn more

Like art, pinpointing the best paint and sip franchise may be somewhat subjective. But we’ve got a lot of numbers in our favor. To explore the franchise opportunity with Painting with a Twist, please check out research pages. You can also download the form on this page to start a conversation.