Church’s Texas ChickenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Church’s Texas Chicken franchise requires a total initial investment of $644K – $1.8M, including a $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $644K – $1.8M
- 38th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 873
- 48th 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
Franchised units fell from 767 to 714 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $644K – $1.8M including a $20K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $936K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 44/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Cajun Global LLC
- Parent company
- Super Rego LLC
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 980 Hammond Drive, Suite 1100, Atlanta, Georgia 30328-6161
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $223.3M
- vs $247.0M prior year
Independent franchisee associations
- Independent Franchisee Association
Franchisee-led councils or alliances disclosed in Item 20. Indicates operator voice.
Overview
About
Church's Texas Chicken franchisees operate quick-service chicken restaurants, managing daily operations including food preparation, inventory, staffing, customer service, and compliance with brand standards. Franchisees are responsible for local marketing, rent/utilities, labor costs, COGS, and achieving the $1.09M average revenue target while paying 5% royalties on gross sales to the franchisor.
- CEO
- Roland Gonzalez
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2011
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 25
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 28 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Fee (Blaze Compact Model) | $10K | $10K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (Blaze Compact Model) | $20K | $20K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Funds (Blaze Compact Model) | $16K | $25K | |
| Real Estate (purchase or lease) (Blaze Compact Model) | — | — | |
| Site Work (Blaze Compact Model) | $200K | $425K | |
| Building and Improvements (Blaze Compact Model) | $475K | $600K | |
| Equipment and Signs (Blaze Compact Model) | $320K | $350K | |
| Fees, Misc., Architectural and Engineering Services, Deposits (Blaze Compact Model) | $45K | $125K | |
| Initial Training (Blaze Compact Model) | $0 | $23K | |
| Opening Supplies (Blaze Compact Model) | $6K | $13K | |
| Insurance (Blaze Compact Model) | $8K | $10K | |
| Utility Deposits (Blaze Compact Model) | $5K | $15K | |
| Business Licenses (Blaze Compact Model) | $300 | $600 | |
| Additional Funds - Months (Blaze Compact Model) | $10K | $20K | |
| Development Fee (1400 Blaze Model) | $10K | $10K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee (1400 Blaze Model) | $20K | $20K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Funds (1400 Blaze Model) | $16K | $25K | |
| Real Estate (purchase or lease) (1400 Blaze Model) | — | — | |
| Site Work (1400 Blaze Model) | $220K | $450K | |
| Building and Improvements (1400 Blaze Model) | $605K | $693K | |
| Total initial investment | $2.4M | $3.4M |
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
$87K
8.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
7%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
14.2 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $644K – $1.8M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $10K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $3K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $50 |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $13K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $936K
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 749 units
- vs category median 13 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $347K→$2.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- revenue_only
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Revenue is only 0.9x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Church’s Texas Chicken Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 873
- Opened
- 7
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 36
- Turnover rate
- 4.1%
- Company-owned
- 159
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 82%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -4.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -6.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Closed (3yr)
- 9
- Terminated (3yr)
- 16
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 4
- Transfers (3yr)
- 19
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Ceased ops
- 47.4%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Declining unit base, undisclosed profitability, active litigation history, and unfavorable revenue-to-investment ratio present material risks for new franchisees entering a contracting system.
Litigation (Item 3)
7 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Largest disclosed settlement: $175,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. QFA’s parent and affiliates (the “Other Debtors”), also filed Debtor’s Joint Prepackaged Chapter 11 Plan in the following associated, jointly administrated cases: In re American Food Distributors LLC, Case No. 14-10544-LSS (U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
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: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 44 / 100 rating
- 01MINORUnit count declining 4.0% YoY with 873 locations indicates shrinking system momentum and potential market saturation or operational challenges
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI validation; with $644k-$1.8M investment and only $1.09M avg revenue, profitability margin is opaque and concerning
- 03HIGHMultiple active litigations including franchisor-initiated enforcement cases (Carolina Café Services, Royal Texas LLC) and fraud settlements signal adversarial franchisor-franchisee relationships
- 04MINORRoyal Texas LLC ongoing dispute involving breach of contract, trademark infringement, and tortious interference suggests governance instability and potential brand/operational conflicts
- 05MEDHigh investment ceiling ($1.8M) relative to disclosed average revenue ($1.09M) creates unfavorable ROI floor even before accounting for 5% royalties, COGS, labor, and rent
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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius or Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 9 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
7 case reference(s): 0 pending, 1 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 17 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 154 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisor
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- SynergySuite and QuBeyond
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SynergySuite and QuBeyond
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
38 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Church’s Texas Chicken · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Church’s Texas Chicken franchise?
The total investment to open a Church’s Texas Chicken franchise ranges from $644K – $1.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Church’s Texas Chicken franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Church’s Texas Chicken FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $936K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Church’s Texas Chicken's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Church’s Texas 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 Church’s Texas Chicken franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Church’s Texas Chicken has 873 total units in the United States, including 767 franchised units and 159 company-owned units. 7 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Church’s Texas Chicken a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Church’s Texas Chicken as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 44 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.