Trailer Birds Hot ChickenFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Trailer Birds Hot Chicken franchise requires a total initial investment of $39K – $464K, including a $20K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2021 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: F. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2021 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $39K – $464K
- 2nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 59th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 44th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 0
- 0th 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
Bottom line
- Total investment $39K – $464K including a $20K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict F (Bottom Quintile) with a risk score of 100/100.
- 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
- Virtual Brands, Inc.
- Parent company
- Dickey’s Capital Group, Inc.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Laura Rea Dickey
- Incorporated in
- TX
- HQ
- 18583 N. Dallas Parkway, Suite 120, Dallas, Texas 75287
- Auditor
- Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $54.6M
- vs $63.3M prior year
Overview
About
Trailer Birds Hot Chicken franchisees operate a quick-service restaurant focused on hot chicken sandwiches and related poultry products, likely in a limited or mobile format given the trailer-based branding. Daily operations include food preparation, inventory management, customer service, and compliance with franchisor standards, though no current operating units exist to validate actual operational requirements.
- CEO
- Laura Rea Dickey
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 2020
- FDD year
- 2021
- States available
- 0
FDD Item 7 · 2021 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $20K | $20K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $2K | $15K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $17K | $429K |
| Total initial investment | $39K | $464K |
Source: Trailer Birds Hot Chicken 2021 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $39K – $464K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $2K – $15K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $20K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · 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 | $340 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Trailer Birds Hot Chicken Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 0
- 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)
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- Multi-unit owners
- 6.7%
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 55
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
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
This is a high-risk investment in a pre-revenue or collapsed franchise system with a financially distressed parent company facing active litigation over customer data breaches and zero operating units to validate business model viability.
Litigation (Item 3)
Three putative class action lawsuits pending against DBRI and DCG related to data security incident (April 2019-October 2020) affecting payment card information at some Dickey's Barbecue Pit locations. Cases filed in Southern District of California and Northern District of Texas. Claims include negligence, privacy violations, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, CCPA violations, FTC Act violations, and state consumer protection violations. No franchisees named as defendants. Settlement agreement reached in August 2021 in Adams case and two other actions, awaiting court approval.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC
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 100 / 100 rating
- 01MINORZero operating franchise units with unknown growth trajectory indicates either pre-revenue system or complete unit collapse
- 02HIGHParent company has going concern warning, suggesting financial instability and potential inability to support franchisee operations
- 03MINORThree active class action lawsuits involving data security breach (April 2019–October 2020) expose franchisor to material liability and reputational damage
- 04MEDNo disclosed average revenue or net income prevents validation of investment viability and ROI projections
- 05MINORWide investment range ($38,733–$464,124) with lack of transparency suggests inconsistent site development costs or hidden expenses
- 06MED6% royalty on undisclosed sales base creates uncertainty; franchisees cannot benchmark profitability expectations
- 07MINOR20-year term is lengthy commitment to unproven brand with zero operating reference units
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 | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 30 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Texas |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three putative class action lawsuits pending against DBRI and DCG related to data security incident (April 2019-October 2020) affecting payment card information at some Dickey's Barbecue Pit locations. Cases filed in Southern District of California and Northern District of Texas. Claims include negligence, privacy violations, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, CCPA violations, FTC Act violations, and state consumer protection violations. No franchisees named as defendants. Settlement agreement reached in August 2021 in Adams case and two other actions, awaiting court approval.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 50 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 90 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and off-site
- POS system
- Spark Point-of-Sale system
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Spark Point-of-Sale system
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Trailer Birds Hot Chicken · FDD (2021) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Trailer Birds Hot Chicken franchise?
The total investment to open a Trailer Birds Hot Chicken franchise ranges from $39K – $464K, with an initial franchise fee of $20K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Trailer Birds Hot Chicken franchise owners earn?
Trailer Birds Hot Chicken does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Trailer Birds Hot Chicken's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Trailer Birds Hot 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.
Is Trailer Birds Hot Chicken a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Trailer Birds Hot Chicken as a F-grade franchise with a risk score of 100 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.
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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.