Quick Verdict · who it fits
Chick-fil-A fits owner-operators looking for a mature food & beverage concept.
The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.
Initial investment (Item 7)
$586K - $3.4M
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$10K
Royalty (Item 6)
7–10%
Item 19 median rev
$1.28M franchised Licensed Units located on college or university ca…
System size (Item 20)
3,219 +296
Years in business
7+ yrs
Item 3 litigation
6 suits
Model Chick-fil-A's costs in the investment calculator → Prefilled from this filing — startup cost, cash flow and break-even.
Buyer qualifications
Data extracted from the 2026 FDD filed with state regulators. Fees and terms may have changed since filing — request the current FDD from the franchisor before deciding. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Full disclaimer.
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 7–10% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$1,280,000
$100k$2.4M
Royalty (7–10%)
—
Total / year
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▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration
Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.
424 Chick-fil-A Licensed Units
Total units open
as of December 31, 2025
18 new Licensed Units opened in 2025
Units opened last year
19 Licensed Units ceased operations in 2025
Units closed last year
-1 unit in 2025
Net unit growth
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
5
Risks to review
4
Strengths identified
5
Questions to ask
How Chick-fil-A ranks against 811 Food & Beverage peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
74th pct · of 811 peers
Franchise fee
2nd pct · of 811 peers
System size
98th pct · of 811 peers
Food & Beverage industry averages
Avg investment
$528K - $1.3M
Avg franchise fee
$38K
Avg system size
235
Franchises analyzed
811
Closest concepts by category and investment.
| Brand | Item 19 | Fee | Investment | Royalty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chick-fil-A | Disclosed | $10K | $586K - $3.4M | 7–10% | 3,219 |
| Boston Pizza RestaurantsSimilar price | Disclosed | $50K | $1.1M - $3.3M | 5% | 20 |
| Doctor's AssociatesBiggest system | None | $15K | $227K - $630K | 8% | 18,773 |
| Vintage Hospitality GroupTop-rated in category | Disclosed | $50K | $3.5M - $6.4M | 5.5% | 33 |
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Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
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Brand Analysis
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Brand Analysis
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. reported 656 company-operated stores in 43 states as of January 30, 2026, and the brand has never sold a franchise. Huddle House and Another Broken Egg cover the same daypart with filed FDDs, at $555,375 to $1,715,275 and $792,500 to $1,804,000.
Chick-fil-A requires a $10,000 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $585,500–$3,437,000, per the most recent FDD on file.
Chick-fil-A is franchised by Chick-fil-A, Inc., the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the franchisor's corporate history, parents, and predecessors.
Yes. Chick-fil-A discloses Item 19 financial performance representations with reported revenue around $1,279,605. See the financials sub-page for the full distribution.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 7.0% to 10.0% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, Chick-fil-A has 3,219 total locations, with 296 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt