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.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 54/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 15 loans (below the industry average).
- 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
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 Chester's unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
58%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
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.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 35 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
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 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
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
90 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Chester's · FDD (2025) PDF