FranchiseVerdict
HCK Hot Chicken logo
FV-01170·MODERATEExcellent81

HCK Hot Chicken

Formerly known as Hot Chikn Kitchn

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2021Website
Investment
$206K – $688K
20th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
6.0%
54th pct Full Service
Units
7
33rd pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $206K – $688K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100.
  • No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Hot Chikn Kitchn LLC
Incorporated in
Florida
HQ
650 Golden Gate Point, #401, Sarasota, FL 34236
Auditor
Davidson, Doyle & Hilton
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$176K
vs $501K prior year

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 HCK Hot Chicken unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $206K–$688K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$60K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

23%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$113K
EBITDA margin
15.0%
Total invested
$492K
Payback
52 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate fast-casual hot chicken restaurants, preparing and serving spicy fried chicken dishes with side items and beverages in a counter-service or dine-in format. Day-to-day operations include food preparation, inventory management, staffing, and customer service in a QSR environment.

CEO
Michael Sarago
Founded
2021
FDD year
2024
States available
5

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$206K – $688K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $60K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$40K
Royalty
6.0%
Percentage of Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
2.0%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
8.0%
vs 9–13% typical

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

Total units
7
Opened
3
Last reporting year
Closed
1
Turnover rate
14.3%
Company-owned
2
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
71%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+150.0%
Net unit change last year
2022
5+3
Franchised units
2023
2
Franchised units
2024
0
Franchised units

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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 18 states
Not registered

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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

HCK Hot Chicken presents elevated risk due to missing financial disclosures, going concern flag, micro-scale operations, and inability to validate unit economics before investment.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (avg revenue and net income not disclosed) — impossible to validate ROI claims
  2. 02HIGHGoing Concern = False — suggests potential financial instability or accounting issues at franchisor level
  3. 03MEDOnly 7 units system-wide — extremely small franchise with limited track record and survival data
  4. 04MINOR150% YoY unit growth from 7 units is mathematically trivial (likely added only ~3-4 units) — growth metric is misleading
  5. 05MINORWide investment range ($205,500–$688,000) indicates high variability and unclear cost structure
  6. 06MEDNo disclosed average unit volumes or profitability — unable to assess if franchise model is economically viable

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
Florida

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
26 hrs
On-the-job training
130 hrs
POS system
HCK Hot Chicken Information System
Operating tech stack

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

19 numbers

Locked
(608) 266-••••
WI
(860) 240-••••
CT
(801) 530-••••
UT

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

HCK Hot Chicken · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above