Chuck’s Hot Chicken Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $499K – $817K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Chuck's Hot Chicken is a fast-casual franchise serving Nashville-style hot chicken sandwiches and tenders with customizable heat. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Chuck’s Hot Chicken franchise requires a total initial investment of $499K – $817K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.5% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $499K – $817K
- 75th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 6
- 27th 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 $499K – $817K including a $30K franchise fee, 5.5% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSFY2024 Total Gross Revenue, defined as total revenue from sales of products and services less state/local taxes and applied refunds. Item 19 prints five outlets, but only three traded the full year: Maryland Heights $1,587,271.91 (affiliate-owned, open since November 2020), O'Fallon $1,175,178.09 (July 2021) and Rock Hill $889,205.62 (October 2022). The stored statistics cover those three. Two further outlets are disclosed but excluded here as part-year: Tower Grove $1,590,293.38, open from February 23, 2024 (about 10.2 months), and Arnold $307,928.94, open from October 22, 2024 (about 71 days). A sixth franchised outlet is excluded by the franchisor because it does not follow the system's standard hours or days of operation. The franchisor states there are no material differences in the gross revenue of franchised and company-owned outlets, and publishes no average, median, high or low of its own.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 54/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +3 franchised outlets in the latest year (3 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Chuck's Hot Chicken Franchising LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Chuck's Hot Chicken LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 7 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Co-Founder and Co-Owner
- Jonathan Plawsky
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- MO
- HQ
- 111 Westport Plaza Drive, Suite #657, Maryland Heights, MO 63146
- Auditor
- DA ADVISORY GROUP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $330K
- vs $121K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jonathan Plawsky
- Headquarters
- MO
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 14
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 36% above the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $30K | $30K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $20K | $30K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $449K | $757K |
| Total initial investment | $499K | $817K |
Source: Chuck’s Hot Chicken 2025 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
- $499K – $817K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $20K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.5%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.5% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% |
| Technology fee | $558 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $15K – $20K |
| Total fee load | 6.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Chuck’s Hot Chicken is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Chuck’s Hot Chicken 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 annual revenue, 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.
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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
FY2024 Total Gross Revenue, defined as total revenue from sales of products and services less state/local taxes and applied refunds. Item 19 prints five outlets, but only three traded the full year: Maryland Heights $1,587,271.91 (affiliate-owned, open since November 2020), O'Fallon $1,175,178.09 (July 2021) and Rock Hill $889,205.62 (October 2022). The stored statistics cover those three. Two further outlets are disclosed but excluded here as part-year: Tower Grove $1,590,293.38, open from February 23, 2024 (about 10.2 months), and Arnold $307,928.94, open from October 22, 2024 (about 71 days). A sixth franchised outlet is excluded by the franchisor because it does not follow the system's standard hours or days of operation. The franchisor states there are no material differences in the gross revenue of franchised and company-owned outlets, and publishes no average, median, high or low of its own.
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue
- Sample size
- 3 outlets
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $889K→$1.6MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 37 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
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.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.5% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +400.0% over 3 years (3 opened, 0 closed).
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 Chuck’s Hot Chicken 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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6
- Opened
- 3
- 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
- 1
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 83%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 1
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 16.7%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Ceased ops
- 16.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 14 states 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.
14
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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.
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: the franchisor is a named party (plaintiff).
Franchisor filed suit in St. Louis County Circuit Court on May 22, 2023 against Wichita franchisee (Foods, LLC and Brad Rogers) for breach of contract. Settled July 20, 2023; franchisee remains in system.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · DA ADVISORY GROUP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 54 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHActive litigation in 2023 (breach of contract settlement) — suggests franchisor-franchisee relationship tensions and enforcement willingness
- 02MINOROnly 6 units with 150% YoY growth — extremely small system size creates concentration risk and limits operational data reliability
- 03MEDHigh investment range ($499K-$817K) paired with undisclosed profitability — ROI timeline and payback period cannot be validated
- 04MED5-year term with no renewal information disclosed — short initial commitment increases risk if franchisor encounters financial distress
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | all or part of a town, city or county, identified by a map and/or one or more contiguous zip codes (may be as small as the premises or its building) |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Missouri |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | MO |
| Litigation count | 1 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Franchisor filed suit in St. Louis County Circuit Court on May 22, 2023 against Wichita franchisee (Foods, LLC and Brad Rogers) for breach of contract. Settled July 20, 2023; franchisee remains in system.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 0 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 32 hrs
- Training location
- St. Louis Metro Area (franchisor HQ and/or affiliate/franchised outlet)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- SquareUp
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SquareUp
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
7 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 Chuck’s Hot Chicken franchise?
The total investment to open a Chuck’s Hot Chicken franchise ranges from $499K – $817K, 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 Chuck’s Hot Chicken franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Chuck’s Hot Chicken FDD discloses outlet figures from $889K to $1.6M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Chuck’s Hot Chicken?
Chuck’s Hot Chicken is franchised by Chuck's Hot Chicken Franchising LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Chuck's Hot Chicken LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Chuck’s Hot Chicken 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 Chuck’s Hot Chicken FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Chuck’s Hot Chicken's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Chuck’s Hot Chicken (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 Chuck’s Hot Chicken franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Chuck’s Hot Chicken has 6 total units in the United States, including 5 franchised units and 1 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Chuck’s Hot Chicken a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Chuck’s Hot Chicken as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 54 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.