Chester’s
Formerly known as The Mill
Bottom line
- Total investment $28K – $297K including a $4K franchise fee.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 63/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 15 loans (below the industry average).
- System contracting at -6.9% 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
59%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Chester's franchisees operate quick-service restaurant locations, primarily selling fried chicken and related fast-food items. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staffing, and customer service in a limited-service format. The business model relies on high-volume throughput with minimal franchisor ongoing support, given the absence of royalty-based oversight mechanisms.
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 · 12 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
Chester's presents high risk due to negative unit growth, absent financial disclosures, zero royalties misaligning franchisor incentives, and unprotected territories—classic warning signs of a contracting franchise system.
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 7.3% YoY (1002 → ~928 units), indicating system contraction and potential franchisee dissatisfaction
- 02MINORNo financial performance disclosure (Item 19) prevents validation of $27.5K-$296.5K investment returns
- 03MINORZero royalties create misaligned incentives—franchisor has minimal ongoing interest in franchisee success
- 04MINORUnprotected territory exposes franchisees to internal competition from other Chester's locations
- 05MINORWide investment range ($27.5K-$296.5K spread) suggests inconsistent unit economics or multiple failing models
- 06HIGHNo going concern statement absent—typical red flag for mature/declining QSR franchises
- 07MINORLow franchise fee ($3,500) combined with declining units suggests potential predatory recruitment model
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
52 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
CHESTER’S · FDD (2024) PDF