Chopt Creative Salad Company® Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $815K – $2.6M
- Disclosed sales
- $3.2M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Chopt is a fast-casual franchise serving creative, chopped salads and grain bowls made to order from fresh ingredients. Franchisees run restaurants managing prep, assembly-line service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® franchise requires a total initial investment of $815K – $2.6M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $3.2M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored7 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $815K – $2.6M
- 89th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $3.2M
- Outlet subset36th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 12th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 101
- 76th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $815K – $2.6M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $3.2M/year (median $3.2M) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 70/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Chopt Creative Salad Company Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Founders Table Franchising, LLC / Founders Table Restaurant Group, LLC (FTRG)
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Founders Table Restaurant Group, LLC (FTRG)
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Nicholas Marsh
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 800 Westchester Avenue, Suite N-321, Rye Brook, New York 10573
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $469K
- vs $91K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Nicholas Marsh
- Headquarters
- New York
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 249% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $10K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $775K | $2.5M |
| Total initial investment | $815K | $2.6M |
Source: CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® 2026 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
- $815K – $2.6M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% |
| Technology fee | $2K |
| Training fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 225% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$1.7M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $3.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $3.2M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- historical average/median/high/low Gross Sales for a limited cohort of mature non-traditional Restaurants; Food Cost and Hourly Labor margins for affiliate-owned mature Restaurants
- Sample size
- 4 outlets
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $2.3M→$4.0MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 49 of the 2026 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $3.2M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.9x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence. Sample size of 4 outlets — treat as directional only.
Multi-unit rate
Only 14% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Chopt Creative Salad Company® Compares
Category median of published Quick-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 101
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 100
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 25%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 13.6%
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
1 current owner across 1 state.
- NY 1
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- 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 70 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNet Income not disclosed in Item 19 — prevents accurate ROI analysis and profitability verification
- 02HIGHDeceptive marketing litigation (2022-2023) with confidential settlement — reputational risk and undisclosed terms
- 03MINORUnit count stagnant at 94 with unknown growth trajectory — suggests market saturation or underperformance
- 04MED5% royalty on gross sales (not net) — ongoing fees reduce already-undisclosed margins
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | varies by Host Venue |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | No |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Rye Brook, New York (within 10 miles of franchisor's then-current principal business address) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 25 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 255 hrs
- Training location
- Affiliate-owned CHOPT Restaurant in New York, plus virtual/distance learning
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee (franchisor approves site/lease)
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® franchise?
The total investment to open a CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® franchise ranges from $815K – $2.6M, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $3.2M. The median is $3.2M. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY®?
CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® is franchised by Chopt Creative Salad Company Franchising, LLC. Its parent company is Founders Table Franchising, LLC / Founders Table Restaurant Group, LLC (FTRG). The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Founders Table Restaurant Group, LLC (FTRG). Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY®'s franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® (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 CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® has 101 total units in the United States, including 1 franchised units and 100 company-owned units.
Is CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates CHOPT CREATIVE SALAD COMPANY® as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 70 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.