Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken
Bottom line
- Total investment $306K – $518K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.5% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 49/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 16 loans (below the industry average).
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
25%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Overview
About
Hangry Joe's franchisees operate quick-service restaurants serving Nashville-style hot chicken sandwiches, tenders, and sides with a focus on customizable heat levels. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, staffing, inventory management, and customer service in high-traffic casual dining or fast-casual formats. Franchisees manage P&L, local marketing, and compliance with brand standards while paying 6.5% royalties on gross revenues.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 11 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 phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Rapid-growth hot chicken franchise with litigation-tainted leadership, missing financial disclosures, and aggressive unit expansion raises material concerns about operational maturity and founder credibility.
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHFounder Derek Cha has prior litigation history (two concluded sweetFrog matters alleging franchise law violations and fraudulent financial representations)
- 02MEDNo average revenue or net income disclosed in FDD Item 19 — prevents accurate ROI analysis and comparison to $305.5K-$518K investment
- 03MINORExplosive unit growth of 155% YoY (roughly 20 to 51 units) suggests rapid expansion that may outpace operational support capacity
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($305.5K-$518K) combined with undisclosed profitability creates misalignment of risk/reward transparency
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
43 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken · FDD (2024) PDF