Chicken Salad ChickFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chicken Salad Chick franchise requires a total initial investment of $777K – $1.0M, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.5M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 38.5% charge-off rate across 58 loans[1]. Verdict grade: C. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $777K – $1.0M
- 40th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- 16th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 288
- 46th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 38.5%
- 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
38.5% of SBA loans charged off across 58 loans, above the 16% franchise average.
Franchised units fell from 206 to 159 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
21% cash-on-cash return. Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $777K – $1.0M including a $50K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.5M/year (median $1.5M), with an estimated 21% cash-on-cash return.
- Verdict C (Average) with a risk score of 68/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 38.5% across 58 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 29.6% CAGR over 3 years with 288 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Simply Southern Restaurant Group, LLC
- Parent company
- BA CSC Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Simply Southern
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- GA
- HQ
- 2839 Paces Ferry Road SE, Ste. 500, Atlanta, Georgia 30339
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $13.5M
- vs $15.1M prior year
Affiliated brands
- SSRG Cake
- CSC Ad Funds
- SSRG II
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual chicken salad restaurants featuring a limited, customizable menu focused on fresh chicken salad bowls, sandwiches, and salads. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, customer service, marketing to their protected territory, and staff management in a 1,500–2,500 sq ft footprint.
- CEO
- Scott Deviney
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2012
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 20
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50K | $50K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Fee | $10K | $10K | |
| Rent (1 month) and Security Deposit | $6K | $11K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $425K | $525K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $175K | $225K | |
| Decor Package | $15K | $20K | |
| Branded Merchandise | $9K | $10K | |
| Inventory | $12K | $13K | |
| Signage | $12K | $25K | |
| Drive Thru Package | $25K | $35K | |
| Technology Equipment and Software | $25K | $35K | |
| Permits and Licenses | $500 | $3K | |
| Insurance (6 months) | $3K | $4K | |
| Training | $5K | $9K | |
| Other Deposits and Prepaid Expenses | $0 | $6K | |
| Professional Fees (Attorney, Architect, etc.) | $10K | $20K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 months | $20K | $30K | |
| Total initial investment | $802K | $1.0M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$163K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
17%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $777K – $1.0M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.8 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $20K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.5M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.5M
- Avg net income
- $188K
- Cash-on-cash
- 20.6%
- Based on Net Income / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 177 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $605K→$2.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Chicken Salad Chick Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 288
- Opened
- 29
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Turnover rate
- 0.7%
- Company-owned
- 82
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 72%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +14.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +29.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 26
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 10 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
- 58
- Loan volume
- $44.6M
- Median loan
- $725K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 38.5%
- 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)
- 61.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 33.3%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 28
- Defaults
- 5
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Chicken Salad Chick's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 9-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 38.5% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 3 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Chicken Salad Chick presents moderate risk: strong unit growth and no litigation are positives, but absence of Item 19 financial disclosure and tight margin structure warrant thorough franchisee validation before committing $777K+.
Litigation (Item 3)
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $50,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 68 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representation) disclosed — cannot independently verify the $188,381 average net income claim
- 02MINORRoyalty floor of $600/month ($7,200 annually) means low-volume locations pay 8.6%+ effective rate, creating unprofitable unit risk
- 03MINORMinimum initial investment of $777,000 is substantial with only 12.7% average net margin ($188k on $1.48M revenue)
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 | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1.5 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 45 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 30 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and franchisor location
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- NCR Silver Pro POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR Silver Pro POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Chicken Salad Chick · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Chicken Salad Chick franchise?
The total investment to open a Chicken Salad Chick franchise ranges from $777K – $1.0M, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Chicken Salad Chick franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Chicken Salad Chick FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.5M. The median is $1.5M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Chicken Salad Chick's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Chicken Salad Chick has a charge-off rate of 38.5% across 58 loans, meaning 38.5% 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 Chicken Salad Chick franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chicken Salad Chick has 288 total units in the United States, including 206 franchised units and 82 company-owned units. 29 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Chicken Salad Chick a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chicken Salad Chick as a C-grade franchise with a risk score of 68 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.
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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.