Sweet ChickFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sweet Chick franchise requires a total initial investment of $1.1M – $1.8M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2023 FDD, average unit revenue was $3.2M[2]. Verdict grade: D. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2023 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $1.1M – $1.8M
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $3.2M
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 6
- 15th 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
Started franchising in 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
Bottom line
- Total investment $1.1M – $1.8M including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $3.2M/year.
- Verdict D (Below Average) with a risk score of 72/100.
- Emerging franchise: only 3 years of franchising with 6 units. Early-stage systems carry higher risk but may offer better territory availability.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Sweet Chick Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Sweet Chick Life Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- Sweet Chick Lyfe, LLC
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- John Seymour
- CEO experience
- 2022 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 176 Ludlow Street, c/o Ludlow Coffee Supply, New York, New York 10002
- Auditor
- UHY LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $0
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
Sweet Chick franchisees operate casual-dining chicken concept locations, managing food preparation, customer service, staffing, and inventory across breakfast/brunch/lunch dayparts. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen staff, maintaining food quality and brand standards, handling POS systems, and driving local marketing to capture high-traffic daytime customer bases.
- CEO
- John Seymour
- Headquarters
- NY
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 2
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $70K | $80K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $971K | $1.7M |
| Total initial investment | $1.1M | $1.8M |
Source: Sweet Chick 2023 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
$284K
9.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
19%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
5.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $1.1M – $1.8M
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $70K – $80K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $30K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $3.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Company Owned
- Sample size
- 5 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.3M→$5.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 7 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How Sweet Chick Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 6
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 3
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 6 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
Sweet Chick presents a high-risk profile due to minimal system size (6 units), undisclosed unit economics, lack of profitability transparency, and potential financial instability, making franchisee success validation impossible.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · UHY LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- 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 72 / 100 rating
- 01MINOROnly 6 units system-wide with unknown/stagnant growth trajectory raises viability concerns
- 02MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 makes ROI impossible to validate; average revenue of $3.2M doesn't guarantee profitability
- 03MINORHigh initial investment ($1.08M–$1.81M) against tiny franchise system creates liquidity risk if brand fails to scale
- 04MED6% royalty on gross sales (not net) is punitive in restaurant margins; combined with undisclosed profitability data, true take-home is opaque
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status 'False' suggests financial instability or recent restructuring; lack of transparency raises credibility issues
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 75,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | New York, New York |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 25 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 87 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Sweet Chick · FDD (2023) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sweet Chick franchise?
The total investment to open a Sweet Chick franchise ranges from $1.1M – $1.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Sweet Chick franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Sweet Chick FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $3.2M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Sweet Chick's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Sweet Chick (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 Sweet Chick franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sweet Chick has 6 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 6 company-owned units.
Is Sweet Chick a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sweet Chick as a D-grade franchise with a risk score of 72 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 Sweet Chick, 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.