Cowboy ChickenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Cowboy Chicken franchise requires a total initial investment of $582K – $1.4M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.0M[2]. Verdict grade: B. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $582K – $1.4M
- 36th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- 21st pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 18
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 60.0%
- 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
Franchising since 1996. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 11 to 10 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $582K – $1.4M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.0M/year (median $1.8M).
- Verdict B (Above Average) with a risk score of 55/100.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- COWBOY CHICKEN FRANCHISING, LP
- Parent company
- Cowboy Chicken Holdings LLC
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 5995 Summerside Drive, #797603, Dallas, Texas 75379
- Auditor
- HM&M (Huselton, Morgan and Maultsby)
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.6M
- vs $2.0M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual chicken restaurants serving flame-grilled or fried chicken sandwiches and sides with Southwestern branding. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staffing, and customer service in a QSR format with dine-in, carry-out, and likely delivery options.
- CEO
- D. Sean Kennedy
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 1981
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 5
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $40K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $507K | $1.3M |
| Total initial investment | $582K | $1.4M |
Source: Cowboy Chicken 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
$221K
11.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
21%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.8 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $582K – $1.4M
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $40K – $60K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- 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
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $250 |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $18K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.0M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.8M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 17 units
- vs category median 13
- Range (low → high)
- $1.2M→$4.3M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Cowboy Chicken Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 18
- 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
- 7
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 61%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 6.7%
- Net growth (yr3)
- +10.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +10.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
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 · 4 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 loan disclosures. This brand has only 5 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 5
- Loan volume
- $4.7M
- Median loan
- $600K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 60.0%
- 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)
- 40.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 3
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Cowboy Chicken's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 3 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Cowboy Chicken presents meaningful caution due to lack of profitability disclosure, small unit count, and franchisor financial concerns, despite reasonable unit growth and protected territory.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · HM&M (Huselton, Morgan and Maultsby)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 55 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD — unable to validate profitability claims or ROI timeline
- 02MEDOnly 18 units systemwide with modest 10% YoY growth suggests limited scale and market validation
- 03MEDHigh investment range ($581K–$1.4M) against undisclosed net income creates opaque risk-reward profile
- 04HIGHGoing Concern status is False — indicates potential financial or operational stress at franchisor level
- 05MINORAverage revenue of $2.01M is solid but insufficient to offset concerns without corresponding margin data
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 | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory radius | 2 mi |
| 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 | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Dallas, Texas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 4 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 311 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and pre-opening
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- NCR’s Radiant Systems Aloha QS Touchscreen System
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: NCR’s Radiant Systems Aloha QS Touchscreen System
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Cowboy Chicken · FDD (2024) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Cowboy Chicken franchise?
The total investment to open a Cowboy Chicken franchise ranges from $582K – $1.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Cowboy Chicken franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Cowboy Chicken FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.0M. The median is $1.8M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Cowboy Chicken's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Cowboy 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 Cowboy Chicken franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Cowboy Chicken has 18 total units in the United States, including 11 franchised units and 7 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Cowboy Chicken a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Cowboy Chicken as a B-grade franchise with a risk score of 55 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Cowboy Chicken, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
Claim this brandOther Full-Service Restaurants franchises
Compare similar franchise opportunities in the Full-Service Restaurants category
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.