Church's Chicken franchise research

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Investment sourceFDD p.25 ↗

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$20,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

5% · 5% of Gross Sales, paid within 5 business days after the end of each fiscal week

Marketing contribution

5% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

$205 per 4-week period ($2,665/year) plus 5% of first-party digital sales, capped at $1,100 per 4-week period

Other fees

Restaurant Support Fund (guest programs/OPS 360 tablet) $75 per 4-week period; Supply Chain Department Surcharge (pass-through, e.g. $3.57/case chicken boxes, $0.95/case frying oil); Default Royalty adds 1% of Gross Sales while in default

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$60,000-$100,000 for the first 3 months of operation (payroll, uniforms, supplies, misc.; excludes owner salary/draws); franchisor estimates payroll alone at approximately $80,000 for the first 3 months.

Fees sourceFDD p.20 ↗

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Investment sourceFDD p.25 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Historical average/median/high/low Gross Sales and Restaurant Operating Profit (EBITDAR) for Company and Franchised Restaurants, broken out by venue type, quartile, region, and 3-year trend

Reporting period

Fiscal Year 2025 (Dec 30, 2024 - Dec 28, 2025), with 3-year trend data for FY2023-FY2025

Sample

710 domestic restaurants open 52+ weeks as of Dec 28, 2025 (565 Franchised + 145 Company); underlying detail tables use narrower subsets (e.g., 372 Franchised + 142 Company freestanding restaurants for the income-statement table; 421 Franchised + 130 Company freestanding drive-thru restaurants for the quartile table)

Reported average

$1,140,081

Reported median

$1,096,949

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.56 ↗

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2025

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

714

Year-end outlets

722

Net change

+8

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

21

Terminations

1

Non-renewals

0

Other closures

12

Reacquisitions

0

Transfers

8

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

Unit growth sourceFDD p.65 ↗

SBA loan history

Loan activity

11 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$1,490,000

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

4 loans

Historical charge-off share

5.00%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

1 / 20

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Questions before you invest

How much does Church's Chicken franchise cost?

Blaze Freestanding Building (new ground-up, ~1,000-1,400 sq ft): $1,252,400 to $1,970,300; Conversion of Existing Freestanding Building (~1,000-1,800 sq ft): $659,725 to $1,380,300; End Cap Restaurant (shopping center/travel plaza, ~1,500 sq ft): $704,366 to $1,357,300 These are format-specific estimates, not a guaranteed cash requirement. Franchise fee: $20,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review..

Investment sourceFDD p.25 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

How much do Church's Chicken owners make?

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Item 19 metric: Historical average/median/high/low Gross Sales and Restaurant Operating Profit (EBITDAR) for Company and Franchised Restaurants, broken out by venue type, quartile, region, and 3-year trend. Sample: 710 domestic restaurants open 52+ weeks as of Dec 28, 2025 (565 Franchised + 145 Company); underlying detail tables use narrower subsets (e.g., 372 Franchised + 142 Company freestanding restaurants for the income-statement table; 421 Franchised + 130 Company freestanding drive-thru restaurants for the quartile table). Period: Fiscal Year 2025 (Dec 30, 2024 - Dec 28, 2025), with 3-year trend data for FY2023-FY2025.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.56 ↗

What's the SBA charge-off rate for Church's Chicken?

5.00%; numerator / denominator: 1 / 20. Historical 7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals; CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100, snapshot 2026-06-30. This is not a franchise failure probability. Median SBA loan: $1,490,000; window: FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30; sample: 4 loans. Median financing is not total investment.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗