Chatime Franchise Cost & 2026 FDD Data
70/100
Strongest tier
70 this brand51 Quick-Service Restaurants medianlikely 64–76: narrower with more SBA loans (high confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#539 of 3,069 graded brands
Why an A: Helped by unit growth, legal record and transparency. Held back by unit economics. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $291K – $500K
- Avg net sales
- $279K
- 13 outlets reporting; not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 3 resolved of 7 loans: too few to judge
Data from the FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026 FDD
Per the 2026 FDD, a Chatime franchise requires a total initial investment of $291K – $500K, including a $55K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 5.0%. Per the 2026 FDD, average net sales were $279K (13 outlets reporting; net sales, not profit). Verdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2026 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low (issued within the last 12 months)
Evidence for the headline figures: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Quick-Service Restaurants median
Top edge: green = better than the Quick-Service Restaurants median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSAverage net sales of $279K/year (outlet median $182K; 13 outlets reporting; net sales, not profit).
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets did not change (2 opened, 2 closed).
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $51K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $79K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $316K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (3)
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
- You waive a jury trial in disputes with the franchisor (Item 17, renewal, termination and disputes).
- The franchisor receives rebates or payments from suppliers you buy from (Item 8, required suppliers).
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating, no net loss of franchised outlets in the latest Item 20 years, no lawsuit naming the franchisor in Item 3, no rule that the owner must run it personally and the full filing on file, and an Item 19 average from 13 units. Not on file here, so ask: SBA charge-off rate against the category median.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: read the 2026 filing on this site, page by page. The franchisor must also give you its current FDD at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 19% below the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($487K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask Chatime Franchise LLC (Item 1: 8 The Green, Suite A, Dover, DE 19901) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Full Item 7 breakdown16 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $54.9K | $54.9K | |
| Initial Training, Opening Support and Related Personnel Cost | $5K | $5K | |
| Rent | $4K | $33K | |
| Lease Security Deposit | $4K | $22K | |
| Storage Space Deposit | $0 | $1.5K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $135K | $246K | |
| Equipment | $33.5K | $46K | |
| External Signage | $4.2K | $9.5K | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $10K | $16K | |
| Grand opening marketing | $10K | $10K | |
| Licenses, Permits, and Utility Deposits | $3.5K | $5.5K | |
| Technology Systems | $10.5K | $14K | |
| Uniforms | $500 | $1.5K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $6K | |
| Professional Fees | $1K | $5K | |
| Additional Funds – Three Months | $12K | $24K | |
| Total initial investment | $291K | $500K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Transfer fee | $10,000 |
| Total fee loadnear the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.0% | 7.0% of sales |
What do units actually make?
Average net sales are 71% below the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($950K).
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19 (sales and earnings)
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Chatime unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
Average net sales are $279K (FDD Item 19, p.52), and the royalty and ad fund take about $20K of that a year (Item 6). This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. So this box does not estimate a profit. To cover the loan payment alone, one unit has to clear $51K a year after its food, labor, rent and other costs and the franchisor's fees.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $396K Item 7 midpoint is a $316K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $51K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $79K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $396K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $316K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
One unit
One unit: what is left after the loan payment
Gross sales, minus the franchisor's fees and the operating costs, is the unit's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). Minus an assumed loan payment, that is what is left for you, before tax. Gross sales are not profit.
This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners. Invested capital is the Item 7 total, which already includes its working-capital (additional funds) line.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Chatime unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Item 19 reports $278,736 per unit.
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
This brand's Item 19 does not print cost lines. Enter your own from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
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.
Item 7 midpoint of $291K to $500K
Item 7's $12K to $24K additional funds are already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $316K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
Buying several existing units? The acquisition scenario
Buying several units
What buying a few existing units could return
Prices an existing operator of a few units off the single-unit EBITDA above, after shared services, and finances it with an SBA 7(a) loan, a conventional loan and a seller note. It shows the yearly return on your cash (IRR), whether year-1 earnings cover the loan payments (DSCR) and how the price is paid for. It starts at 5 units; every deal term is an assumption you can change, and none is from the FDD.
Not modelled yet
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
This scenario starts from a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in the one-unit model above and it runs on that figure, or take it to the full ROI workbench, where the multi-unit and acquisition models accept your own per-unit economics.
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 · filed by Chatime Franchise LLC
Financial performance
- Range (low → high)
- $94K→$977K2026 FDD Item 19, p.53
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
Percentile ranks within Quick-Service Restaurants
Each rank is among the Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report that figure (the count is under each bar).
Average gross sales are only 0.7x the investment midpoint, so recouping the initial outlay is likely to take years even at strong margins. Gross sales are not profit.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Chatime compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Who are you contracting with?
Chatime Franchise LLC, owned by Chatime Global LLC.
Item 1 (the franchisor) · who you're contracting with
The franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Chatime Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Chatime Global LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- La Kaffa International Co., Ltd.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2026 FDD
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 8 The Green, Suite A, Dover, DE 19901
- Auditor
- The Vega Group
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $387K
- latest fiscal year in the 2026 FDD; $142K the year before
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 6
1 other brand on this site names La Kaffa International Co., Ltd. as parent or ultimate parent in its own FDD.
- Duan Chun Zhen (grade C)
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2026 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
Chatime Franchise LLC franchises Chatime Stores, food service businesses offering gourmet coffees and teas, other coffee and tea-based beverages, bubble tea, compatible food products, and related supplies, accessories, and gifts.
- States and territories listed
- 10
- registered or offered in, as the filing lists them (DC and territories included); not where units may open
Is the system healthy?
+2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2025 (14 to 16, +14.3% in total, +6.9% a year compounded).
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20 (outlets opened, closed and transferred)
Item 20 (outlet counts) · unit dynamics
The growth chart
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 89%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 rates and pipeline
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 10
- 0.56 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 9
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Item 20 · franchised units at year end
Franchised units rose from 14 in 2023 to 16 in 2025
Axis does not start at zero.
Source and method
Government records
SBA loan data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 7 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Loans on file
- 7
- SBA 7(a) loans matched to this brand, incl. those still being repaid
- Loan volume
- $1.9M
- Average loan
- $268K
- loan volume divided by loans
- Charge-off rate
- 3 resolved of 7 loans: too few to judge
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 7 loans, rate hidden below 10
- Paid in full
- 3 resolved of 7 loans: too few to judge
- Recent-loan charge-off
- 3 resolved of 7 loans: too few to judge
- Lenders
- 3
Cumulative: every 7(a) loan matched to this brand in the SBA’s FOIA files, approved FY1991 onward. Historical lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What are the risks?
Main risk in the grade: unit economics. The reasons are below.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade A: Strongest tier, 70/100 (category median 51); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why an A, factor by factor
- Financial health NeutralAudited financials; no going-concern doubt; franchisor reported a net loss; negative net worth; early-stage franchisor
- Unit economics Weighs on it, weakest dimensionAvg net sales $279K on a $396K investment midpoint, 0.7x (net sales, not profit)
- Unit growth Helps+2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2025 (14 to 16, +14.3% in total, +6.9% a year compounded); turnover 11.1%
- Scale Neutral16 franchised units, +2 company-owned (18 in all); franchising in the US since 2014 (brand franchised abroad since 2009)
- Legal HelpsNo litigation naming the franchisor in Item 3
- Transparency HelpsItem 19 discloses financial performance; audited financials
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · The Vega Group
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Franchisor takes supplier rebates: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Protected territory | Yes, on conditions |
|---|---|
| Territory condition | Territory is typically a two-mile radius around the approved location, unless in a Central Business District where it may be limited to a radius of two blocks to two miles; territory is not exclusive and franchisor may compete via alternative distribution channels, other franchisees, or company outlets. |
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| Online sales rights | Reserved by franchisor |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Who runs it (Item 15) | A manager may run it |
| Non-compete (years) | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles) | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 45 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination grounds | 8 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
Items 5 (initial fees), 7 (startup costs), 12 (territory) and 20 (outlet counts) · development agreement
Area development (several units)
A development fee of $20,000 per unit you commit to.
Every term, with its page
- Development fee
- $20,000 per unit committed.
2026 FDD p.12
“Number of Chatime Stores Multi-Unit Development Fee Due at Signing 2 $98,900 3 $134,900 Additional Stores $20,000 each (For ten locations, the total is $274,900) Opening Inventory and Supplies You must purchase from our affiliates an initial inventory of food products, supplies and equipment before opening your Chatime Store.”Open Item 5, p.12 in the filing - Item 7 for the agreement
- $371K – $720K to sign the development agreement, before any unit's own Item 7 total.
2026 FDD p.21
“Total Estimated Initial Investment for a three to ten location Multi- Unit Development Agreement $371,100 to $719,900”Open Item 7, p.21 in the filing - Signed, not yet open
- 10 franchises sold but not open at year end (Item 20, Table 5; see Growth). Ask how long they have been waiting and why.
Each unit still needs its own Item 7 investment on top of the development fee ($20K times the units you commit to). Have a franchise attorney read the schedule and the default terms before you sign.
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- Classroom training
- 7 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 69 hrs
- Training location
- Franchisor headquarters, virtually, a designated training facility, or the franchisee's Store
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6–12 mo
- From signing to launch (FDD p.30)
- Site selection
- franchisee_proposes_franchisor_approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Revel
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Franchisee contacts
We hold no owner list for this brand. Item 20 of the FDD lists the current and former owners; the free FDD is the source.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Chatime franchise?
Per the 2026 FDD, the total investment to open a Chatime franchise ranges from $291K to $500K, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Chatime franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Chatime FDD, average net sales were $279K (13 outlets reporting; net sales, not profit). The median is $182K. Reported as net sales, not gross sales. What an owner keeps depends on location, operating costs and management.
Who owns Chatime?
Chatime is franchised by Chatime Franchise LLC. Its parent company is Chatime Global LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is La Kaffa International Co., Ltd.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Chatime 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 Chatime FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Chatime's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and Chatime has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
How many Chatime franchise locations are there?
Per the 2026 FDD, Chatime has 16 franchised units and 2 company-owned (18 in all). In the latest year, the number of franchised outlets did not change (2 opened, 2 closed).
Is Chatime a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Chatime an A Verdict grade (Strongest tier) with a verdict score of 70 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Helped by unit growth (+2 franchised outlets over the two years to 2025: 14 to 16, +14.3% in total, +6.9% a year compounded), legal record and transparency. Held back by unit economics (avg net sales $279K on a $396K investment midpoint, 0.7x: net sales, not profit). The “Why an A” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
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.