Bottom line
- Total investment $204K – $985K including a $25K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $911K/year (median $813K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 44/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 135 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 38.3% CAGR over 3 years with 813 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Charleys unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
22%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Charleys units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.5M
on $7.3M purchase
Total debt
$5.8M
SBA $3.6M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Charleys is a fast-casual flame-grilled chicken sandwich and wings concept. Franchisees operate small-to-medium format locations (kiosks, food courts, or standalone stores) focusing on quick-service operations with limited prep, high turnover, and point-of-sale driven sales. Day-to-day operations involve managing inventory, staffing shifts, food preparation, and customer service in a high-velocity environment.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 8 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (average net income) disclosed — impossible to validate the $911K average revenue translates to acceptable profit
- 02MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk and cannibalization potential within the same franchise system
- 03MINORWide investment range ($203K–$984K) suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden cost variables not clearly defined
- 04HIGHNo going concern statement is positive, but rapid 21.8% YoY unit growth may indicate oversaturation rather than health
- 05MED6% 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
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
96 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Charleys · FDD (2025) PDF