Charleys Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Charleys is a fast-casual franchise serving flame-grilled chicken sandwiches, wings, and fresh-cut fries. Franchisees operate small- to mid-format stores, kiosks, food courts, or standalone units, built for quick, high-velocity service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Charleys franchise requires a total initial investment of $203K – $696K, including a $25K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $845K[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $203K – $696K
- 25th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $845K
- 15th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 826
- 91st pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $203K – $696K including a $25K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $845K/year (median $743K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 85/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 38.3% CAGR over 3 years with 826 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Gosh Enterprises, Inc.
- Parent company
- None
- CEO title
- Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman
- Charley M. Shin
- CEO experience
- 38 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- Ohio
- HQ
- 5000 Arlington Centre Blvd., Suite 5300, Columbus, Ohio 43220
- Auditor
- Schneider Downs & Co., Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $53.0M
- vs $51.8M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Charley M. Shin
- Headquarters
- Ohio
- Founded
- 1990
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 47
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 32% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $25K | $25K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $24K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $155K | $642K |
| Total initial investment | $203K | $696K |
Source: Charleys 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $203K – $696K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $24K – $30K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $25K – $25K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 13.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $6 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Total fee load | 13.5% of rev |
At 13.5% total fee load, roughly $114K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 27% below the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Charleys until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$477K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Charleys unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $845K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $743K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical gross sales by restaurant location type
- Sample size
- 713 outlets
- vs category median 18 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $195K→$2.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $845K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 13.5% — above the Quick-Service Restaurants average of 7.9%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 38.3% CAGR over 3 years across 826 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Charleys Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 826
- Opened
- 45
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 23
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 2.8%
- Company-owned
- 60
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +38.3%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +38.3%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 45
- Closed (3yr)
- 23
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 23
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 2.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 97.3%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 0.1%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.0%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 48 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 71
- Loan volume
- $30.1M
- Median loan
- $424K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- no resolved loans yet — rate needs a terminal outcome
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 37
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 8.6%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- Jobs supported
- N/A
- Lender concentration
- 13%
- top lender's share
Vintage analysis
Charleys charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Charleys franchisees
Showing 3 of 37 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Charleys's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 18 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Charleys presents moderate-to-cautious risk due to lack of profitability disclosure, unprotected territories enabling system cannibalization, and unclear unit economics across a wide investment range.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Schneider Downs & Co., Inc.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 85 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization potential within the same franchise system
- 02MINORNo going concern statement is positive, but rapid 21.8% YoY unit growth may indicate oversaturation rather than health
- 03MED6% royalty on ~$911K revenue equals ~$55K annually, which combined with other fees could compress already-undisclosed margins
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 13.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbus, Ohio |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Ohio |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 58 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 92 hrs
- Training location
- Columbus, Ohio
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee proposes, franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Brink POS (ParTech, Inc.)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Brink POS (ParTech, Inc.)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
965 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Charleys · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Charleys franchise?
The total investment to open a Charleys franchise ranges from $203K – $696K, with an initial franchise fee of $25K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Charleys franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Charleys FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $845K. The median is $743K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Charleys FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Charleys FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Charleys's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Charleys (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Charleys franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Charleys has 826 total units in the United States, including 766 franchised units and 60 company-owned units. 45 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Charleys a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Charleys as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 85 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Charleys, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Quick-Service Restaurants category
Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.