Lee’s Famous Recipe ChickenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken franchise requires a total initial investment of $517K – $2.4M, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.2M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $517K – $2.4M
- 83rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- 54th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 126
- 76th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-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
29% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $517K – $2.4M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $2.0M), with an estimated 29% cash-on-cash return (based on P&L Bottom Line).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 17/100.
- System contracting at -18.4% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Lee’s Franchisor LLC
- Parent company
- LFR Chicken LLC
- Predecessor
- Famous Recipe Group
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 1270 N. Eglin Parkway, Suite C-14, Shalimar, Florida 32579
- Auditor
- Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $50.5M
- vs $72.9M prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees operate quick-service chicken restaurants serving fried chicken, tenders, and related sides. Daily operations include inventory management, food preparation, customer service, staffing, and marketing in their local territory. Franchisees typically work hands-on or hire managers to oversee kitchen and counter operations.
- CEO
- Ryan Weaver
- Headquarters
- FL
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 11
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $55K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $467K | $2.3M |
| Total initial investment | $517K | $2.4M |
Source: Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken 2025 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
$304K
14.0% 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
- $517K – $2.4M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $55K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 3.5 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $18K |
| Renewal fee | $35K |
| Inventory (initial) | $6K – $32K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.0M
- Avg p&l bottom line
- $413K
- Reported as P&L Bottom Line in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 28.8%
- Based on P&L Bottom Line / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate-owned outlets
- Sample size
- 16 units
- vs category median 28
- Range (low → high)
- $1.4M→$4.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency tier
- none
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 10 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 126
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 33
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 74%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +12.3%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- -18.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 1
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 13 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
Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken presents CAUTION-level risk due to contracting unit count, unprotected territory, absence of Item 19 disclosure, and unclear financial performance sustainability.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Saltmarsh, Cleaveland & Gund
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 17 / 100 rating
- 01MEDUnit count declined 12.3% YoY (126 units), indicating system contraction and potential franchisee struggles
- 02MINORNo protected territory means direct competition from other Lee's franchisees in your market
- 03MINORWide investment range ($517K-$2.35M) suggests inconsistent buildout costs and unclear capex requirements
- 04MINORHigh royalty burden (5% of gross sales) reduces net margins on already modest ~19% net profit margins
- 05MINORNo Item 19 (financial performance representations) provided—cannot validate if average revenue/income are achievable
- 06MINORUnprotected territory creates cannibalization risk, particularly concerning given system shrinkage
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 | 15 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 15 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | No |
| 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 |
| Termination groundsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Delaware |
| Litigation count | 0 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 18 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 417 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Site selection
- franchisor
- POS system
- Focus POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Focus POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
59 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken franchise?
The total investment to open a Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken franchise ranges from $517K – $2.4M, 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 Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.2M. The median is $2.0M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Lee’s Famous Recipe 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 Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken has 126 total units in the United States, including 93 franchised units and 33 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 17 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
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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.