Chester'sFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chester's franchise requires a total initial investment of $28K – $302K, including a $4K franchise fee. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 10 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $28K – $302K
- 1st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 28th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 993
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 0.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Only 0.0% of 10 SBA loans charged off, well below the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 1081 to 993 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $28K – $302K including a $4K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 40/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 10 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System contracting at -8.1% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Chester’s International, LLC
- CEO title
- Managing Director
- Wynn Giles
- Incorporated in
- AL
- HQ
- 1531 3rd Avenue North, Suite 110, Birmingham, Alabama 35203
- Auditor
- Warren Averett, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $40.4M
- vs $51.6M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Chester's franchisees typically operate snack/convenience retail locations (likely gas station-style or convenience store kiosks) focused on impulse-purchase fried snacks and beverages. Day-to-day operations involve inventory management, point-of-sale transactions, food preparation or restocking, customer service, and local marketing within their assigned area.
- CEO
- Wynn Giles
- Headquarters
- AL
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 47
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $4K | $4K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $20K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $14K | $278K |
| Total initial investment | $28K | $302K |
Source: Chester's 2025 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
- $28K – $302K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $4K – $4K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- $800 per year (Marketing Support Fee)
- Ad fund
- -n/d
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Technology fee | $4K |
| Training fee | $4K |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Chester's Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 993
- Opened
- 100
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 109
- Terminated
- 6
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 44
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 11.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -0.9%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -8.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 19
- Transfer rate
- 1.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 90.1%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 5.0%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 5.9%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 47 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
- 10
- Loan volume
- $16.3M
- Median loan
- $1.7M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 8
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Chester's's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 8 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 7 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 5-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 10 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit base, missing profitability data, unprotected territory, and unusually low royalties suggest a mature or struggling system with weak unit economics and limited franchisor support infrastructure.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Warren Averett, LLC
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 40 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 0.9% YoY indicates shrinking franchise system with potential saturation or performance issues
- 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosure (missing Item 19) prevents realistic ROI assessment and suggests weak unit economics
- 03MINORExtremely low royalty fee ($800/year) relative to $27.5K-$301.5K investment range signals either underdeveloped support system or franchisor struggling with unit viability
- 04MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other franchisees and could cannibalize sales in high-density areas
- 05MINORWide investment range ($274K spread) indicates highly variable startup costs with unclear cost drivers and scalability concerns
- 06HIGHNo 'going concern' statement absent—franchisor financial stability and long-term viability unconfirmed
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 0 |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 5 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 20 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Alabama |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 10 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 170 hrs
- Training location
- At franchisee's restaurant
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- CHESTER’S POS system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: CHESTER’S POS system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
780 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Chester's · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chester's franchise?
The total investment to open a Chester's franchise ranges from $28K – $302K, with an initial franchise fee of $4K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Chester's franchise owners earn?
Chester's does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Chester's's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Chester's has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 10 loans, meaning 0.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Chester's franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chester's has 993 total units in the United States, including 1,081 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 100 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Chester's a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chester's as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 40 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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
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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.