From the filed FDD — automated extraction, check the source
2016 FDD · 9+ years old — too old to rate
Chick-fil-A Operator Program
Chicken · parent company: not identified
Chick-fil-A's operator program is the company's traditional restaurant model, in which Chick-fil-A owns the restaurant and selects an operator rather than selling a conventional franchise. The operator runs a single quick-service chicken restaurant day-to-day for a modest upfront fee, sharing revenue and profits with the company under terms that differ from most franchises.
Chick-fil-A Operator Program net unit count grew 11.3% over 2013–2015 per its FDD Item 20.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. Most numbers on this page come from that document; others come from federal SBA loan records and labor and census data, each labelled with its source:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened, transferred and left the system, the main basis for our verdict, which rates how strong the disclosed record is, or says when the system is too new, the filing too old, or the disclosure too thin to judge.
Our rating · opinion
Filing too old to rate
The newest FDD we hold for this brand is from 2016, more than two years old. Franchise systems change a lot in that time, so we don't rate it until we have a current filing.
Exit rate · fiscal 2015
0.8%
vs 0.9% median across 7 comparable systems (chicken)
Cost to open
$259K–$1.6M
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan losses
Too few to rate
0 seasoned resolved loans; 30 needed
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Data as of 2026-10-29. Figures come from Chick-fil-A Operator Program's public FDD filings (latest: MN 2016, extracted 2026-07-23) and SBA FOIA loan records (through FY2026), extracted by us and possibly containing errors. The rating is our opinion, not investment, legal, or tax advice. Franchisor or owner and see something wrong? Report a correction — we review every request.
What each source says
FDD record · SBA loans · model · auditor
We don't rate on an FDD more than two years old; the loan record and model are shown as context until a current filing arrives.
FDD record · Item 20
Filing too old
Latest FDD we hold is from 2016.
SBA loans · vs same-year loans
Too few seasoned loans
0 resolved loans approved by FY2020; 30 needed.
Modeled risk
Not scored
Too little evidence for the model.
Auditor opinion · Item 21
Clean opinion
Unqualified audit, 2016 FDD. Says nothing about franchisee results.
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
latest consecutive years · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness · shown, not counted in the verdict
Systemwide units
2013–2015
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2015, 12 of 1,553 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 0.8% (fiscal 2015), vs a 0.9% median across 7 comparable systems (chicken). An exit is not a failure: this counts terminations, non-renewals and "ceased — other reasons" as reported, and excludes transfers to new owners.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 1,430 | 1,507 | 1,595 |
| Opened | 155 | 168 | 172 |
| Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terminations | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 63 | 72 | 67 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 13 | 8 | 12 |
| Outlets at end | 1,507 | 1,595 | 1,677 |
| Net change | +77 | +88 | +82 |
The franchisor's own finances
FDD ITEM 21 · AUDITED STATEMENTS · 2016 FDD
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP gave an unmodified (clean) opinion on the statements in the 2016 FDD; revenue rose 43% from FY2013 to FY2015.
This is the company selling the franchise, not any franchisee. A clean opinion means the statements are fairly presented — not that the business is healthy.
Revenue · FY2015
$2.01B
extracted · not cross-checked
Net income · FY2015
$319.4M
extracted · not cross-checked
Where FY2015 revenue came from
48% royalties
initial-fee share not extracted
Show the statement figures ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Fiscal year | FY2013 | FY2014 | FY2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $1.40Bextracted · not cross-checked | $1.64Bextracted · not cross-checked | $2.01Bextracted · not cross-checked |
| Royalty revenue | $706.9Mextracted · not cross-checked | $807.5Mextracted · not cross-checked | $961.5Mextracted · not cross-checked |
| Net income (loss) | $230.8Mextracted · not cross-checked | $256.7Mextracted · not cross-checked | $319.4Mextracted · not cross-checked |
The lender's view
SBA 7(a)/504 loan outcomes · compared with franchise loans of the same years
Banks have made 1 SBA-backed loans to Chick-fil-A Operator Program franchisees since 2016. Only 0 of its loans approved by FY2020 have resolved — fewer than the 30 we need to compare it fairly with other franchise loans, so we don't rate it.
All-time, 0 of 0 resolved loans charged off (—). That raw figure mixes every approval year since 2016 — loans made in 2006–08 failed at several times the rate of loans made in 2010–13 across all franchises — so it is shown as evidence, not as the score. 100% of the brand's loans have not resolved yet.
—
0 seasoned resolved · 30 needed
—
0 of 0 resolved, every approval year
—
charged-off $ ÷ approved $, defaulted loans
$435,700
what recent franchisees borrowed
—
shown with 10+ defaults
0 vs 1
distinct banks — fewer than FY16–20 (loan volume and SBA name coding affect this)
Charge-off rate by loan approval year (%) · dashed line = all franchise loans that year
SOURCE: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA LOAN DATA (DATA.SBA.GOV), FY1991–PRESENT · MATCHED TO CHICK-FIL-A OPERATOR PROGRAM BY SBA FRANCHISE NAME/CODE · RESOLVED = CHARGED-OFF + PAID-IN-FULL · EXPECTED = SAME-YEAR RATE ACROSS ALL SBA FRANCHISE LOANS, LOANS ≥ ~6 YEARS OLD
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $10,000 franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $259K–$1.6M (Item 7). The franchisor publishes an earnings claim (Item 19) — read its methodology closely.
To open (Item 7)
$259K–$1.6M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$10,000
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
15%
of sales, ongoing
Starts at a placeholder of $900K — a round figure for the sector, not from Chick-fil-A Operator Program’s filings. Set your own figure and check it against this brand's Item 19 and what owners tell you.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$135K
15% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$1.4M
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This estimate is computed by software from the brand's public filings and any inputs you enter. No CPA prepared it for you and no assurance is provided on it. Actual results will differ, and the differences may be material.
This is not profit. It covers what the FDD fixes: what you put in, and the royalty you owe on sales. Your take-home depends on food and packaging cost, labor, rent, and the months to breakeven, none of which the FDD fixes for your unit (some Item 19s include cost data — read it).
Build a real pro-forma for Chick-fil-A Operator Program with a buyer-paid CPAHow the earnings claim is built
FDD ITEM 19 · BASIS · 2016 FDD
This filing makes an Item 19 earnings claim; we have not yet read how it is built. Open Item 19 and check which units it covers, which it leaves out, and whether it shows costs.
Show the basis ↓Hide the evidence ↑
Public records
Bankruptcy, closure & federal court records · coverage is selective · dockets are not scored
We have no verified public-record signals published for Chick-fil-A Operator Program. This is not evidence that no events exist. Check PACER, the FDD's Item 3 (litigation) and Item 4 (bankruptcy), and recent news yourself.
8 questions to ask a Chick-fil-A Operator Program franchisee
Built from this brand's own disclosures · take it to your validation calls
The franchisor will give you a list of owners to call. Most buyers ask whether they like it. These questions come from what Chick-fil-A Operator Program has disclosed. Each one carries the number it came from, so you can check the answer against the record.
- 01
Chick-fil-A Operator Program’s own Item 20 shows 12 of 1,553 franchised outlets left the system in fiscal 2015 — about 0.8%. Do you know any of those owners, and do you know why they left?
A franchisor will call these “transitions.” An owner three doors down usually knows whether they sold at a profit or handed the keys back.
FDD Item 20 · FY2015
- 02
You pay 15.0% royalty on gross sales, plus the ad fund, before any of your own costs. On your actual revenue last year, what did you take home as the owner — not revenue, take-home?
Royalty is charged on sales, not profit. This is the number the brochure never shows and the one your life actually runs on.
FDD Item 6
- 03
Chick-fil-A Operator Program makes an earnings claim in Item 19. Does your unit look like that number — and do you know which units they included to build it?
Item 19 is legal to build from a flattering subset. Ask whether they excluded new units, closed units, or company stores.
FDD Item 19 · 2016
- 04
How many months did it take to cover your own costs, and how much cash did you burn getting there?
Ramp-to-breakeven working capital is the most underestimated line in any franchise purchase, and the most common reason otherwise-good units fail.
Not disclosed in any FDD — ask an owner
- 05
Item 3 discloses 6 legal matters. Do you know what those were about, and were any brought by franchisees?
Franchisee-brought suits over territory, fees or support tell you how the franchisor behaves when there's a disagreement.
FDD Item 3 · 2016
- 06
What does the franchisor charge for that you didn't expect — required tech fees, mandatory remodels, approved-supplier pricing?
Required spending appears across Items 6, 8 and 11 rather than in one place, so buyers routinely miss the total.
FDD Items 6, 8, 11
- 07
If your agreement came up for renewal tomorrow at current terms, would you sign again?
The single most predictive question you can ask. A hesitation is the answer.
Ask every owner you speak to
- 08
Who else should I call — including someone who left?
The franchisor's list is curated by definition. Former franchisees are where the unflattering truth lives, and current owners usually know how to reach them.
Ask every owner you speak to
Want this as a checklist you can take to the calls?
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A broker is usually paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid only by you, never by a franchisor you're considering — and the job is pressure-testing Chick-fil-A Operator Program’s numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
This page is what buyers see before they call you for validation. If the record above is wrong — or right in a way the numbers can't show — say so. Franchisors: send corrections with the page reference and we will review them against the filing and update or annotate the page. Corrections are checked against the filings; nothing you write is published with your name unless you agree to it.
Chick-fil-A Operator Program franchise questions, answered from the filings
How many Chick-fil-A Operator Program franchised outlets left the system last year?
In Chick-fil-A Operator Program's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2015), 12 of 1,553 franchised outlets left the system — an exit rate of 0.8% — compared with a 0.9% median across 7 comparable systems (chicken) tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" as the franchisor reported them; it excludes transfers to new owners. The FDD does not say why each outlet left, and an exit is not the same as a failure.
How much does a Chick-fil-A Operator Program franchise cost?
Per Chick-fil-A Operator Program's 2016 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $10,000 (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $259K–$1.6M (Item 7).
What royalty does Chick-fil-A Operator Program charge?
Chick-fil-A Operator Program charges an ongoing royalty of 15.0% of gross sales, per Item 6 of its 2016 FDD.
Does Chick-fil-A Operator Program disclose earnings (Item 19)?
Yes — Chick-fil-A Operator Program makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2016 FDD. Read it closely: franchisors choose which units and which metrics to include.