CHOP5 Salad KitchenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A CHOP5 Salad Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $536K – $996K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.8M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $536K – $996K
- 34th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- 19th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 3
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
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
Bottom line
- Total investment $536K – $996K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.8M/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 32/100.
- Revenue data based on only 1 reporting unit. Treat as directional, not definitive. Ask franchisees directly for current unit economics.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- CHOP5 Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Chop5, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Allen Hertzman
- CEO experience
- 2019 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- KY
- HQ
- 6011 Brownsboro Park Blvd., Suite F, Louisville, Kentucky 40207
- Auditor
- REESE CPA LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- vs $0 prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Franchise Advisory Council (FAC)
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
CHOP5 franchisees operate fast-casual salad and bowl restaurants, managing food preparation, inventory, staffing, and point-of-sale operations in limited-service environments. Daily operations involve customizable salad/bowl assembly, ingredient sourcing and management, and drive-through or dine-in/takeout service delivery.
- CEO
- Allen Hertzman
- Headquarters
- KY
- Founded
- 2019
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 2
Item 2 · who runs the franchisor
Executive team
Brian Mills
President
7 yrs in role
Co-Founder & Operating Manager of CHOP5, LLC in Louisville, KY since February 2015.
Allen Hertzman
Chief Executive Officer
7 yrs in role
Co-Founder & Member of CHOP5, LLC in Louisville, KY since February 2015. President of Johncol, Inc. (owns 25 Papa John's Pizza franchises) in Columbus, OH from January 1991 to October 2022.
Kim Pettingell
Marketing Director
7 yrs in role
Marketing Director of CHOP5, LLC in Louisville, KY since September 2016.
Philip Horn
Co-Founder and Member
7 yrs in role
President of HB Tenders LLC (owns 1 HueyMagoos) in Charleston, SC since December 2022. Co-Founder & Member of CHOP5, LLC since February 2015; Managing Partner of Chesapeake Bay Subs, LLC (10 Jersey Mikes) since January 2012; Managing Partner of LaHoBa, LLC (2 Papa John's) since November 2009; Managing Partner of Bluegrass Subs, LLC (6 Jersey Mikes) since October 2006; President of S.R. Bailey since February 1999; President of We Three Kings, Inc. (1 Papa John's) since November 1993; and President of RoHoHo, Inc. (36 Papa John's) since September 1991.
Donald Bauer
Co-Founder and Member
7 yrs in role
Vice President of HB Tenders, LLC (owns 1 Huey Magoos) in Charleston, SC since December 2022. Co-Founder & Member of CHOP5, LLC since February 2015; Vice President of LaHoBa, LLC (2 Papa John's Pizza franchises) since November 2009; Vice President of S.R. Bailey since February 1999; and Vice President of RoHoHo, Inc. (52 Papa John's Pizza franchises) since September 1991.
Wade Oney
Co-Founder and Member
7 yrs in role
Authorized Member of IC4Y International SB Management, LLC in Valrico, FL since January 2021. Managing Partner of W&M Partners 100, LLC since July 2016; Co-Founder & Member of CHOP5, LLC since March 2015; President of Longleaf Baldwin 1 Company since April 2006; Managing Partner of Ice Cream 4 You International, LLC since May 2006; Managing Partner of OneyBayside, LLC since September 2005; Managing Partner of JED entities since September 2004; President of Walanilo Development, Ltd. and Walanilo Company since May 2002; and President of Bam-Bam Pizza, Inc. since June 1994.
Patrick Gaunce
Co-Founder and Member
7 yrs in role
Co-Founder & Member of CHOP5, LLC in Louisville, KY since February 2015. President of MRG, Inc. (owns 7 Papa John's Pizza franchises) in Grand Rapids, MI from January 1995 to June 2020; President of SPG, Inc. (owns 2 Papa John's Pizza franchises) in Glasgow, KY since January 1991; and President of Caveland Inc. in Cave City, KY since 1972.
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $80K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $466K | $876K |
| Total initial investment | $536K | $996K |
Source: CHOP5 Salad Kitchen 2024 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
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
$187K
10.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
23%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $536K – $996K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $80K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $5K |
| Transfer fee | $4K |
| Renewal fee | $2K |
| Inventory (initial) | $7K – $15K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.8M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Company-Owned
- Sample size
- 1 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How CHOP5 Salad Kitchen Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +50.0%
- Net unit change last year
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 7 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Washington
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 23
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
CHOP5 presents material risk due to extremely small franchise network (3 units), unprotected territory, unverified financial claims, and unclear corporate financial health despite attractive per-unit profitability metrics.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Largest disclosed settlement: $210,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · REESE CPA 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 32 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 3 units system-wide suggests minimal scale, market validation, and support infrastructure
- 02MEDNo disclosed growth trajectory despite averaging $1.78M revenue per unit — indicates stagnation or contraction risk
- 03MINORUnprotected territory creates direct competition risk from other CHOP5 franchisees and company-owned locations
- 04MINORHigh investment range ($535K-$996K) with only 3 reference units limits ability to validate unit economics
- 05HIGHGoing Concern = False status suggests potential corporate financial instability or operational challenges
- 06MEDNo Item 19 (Financial Performance Representations) disclosed — cannot independently verify claimed $1.78M average 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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.5 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 3 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Jefferson County, Kentucky |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Kentucky |
| 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
- 9 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 18 hrs
- Training location
- Designated Training Facility (Columbus, Ohio)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 6 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- franchisor
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
8 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
CHOP5 Salad Kitchen · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a CHOP5 Salad Kitchen franchise?
The total investment to open a CHOP5 Salad Kitchen franchise ranges from $536K – $996K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do CHOP5 Salad Kitchen franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the CHOP5 Salad Kitchen FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is CHOP5 Salad Kitchen's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for CHOP5 Salad Kitchen (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many CHOP5 Salad Kitchen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, CHOP5 Salad Kitchen has 3 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is CHOP5 Salad Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates CHOP5 Salad Kitchen as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 32 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.