SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA · FY1991–PRESENT · ALABAMA
Church'S Fried Chicken franchise in Alabama: what the public record shows
Franchisees of Church'S Fried Chicken in Alabama have taken 10 SBA loans since 1991 (average $341,982)— too few resolved loans in-state to publish a local failure rate (we require a resolved cohort, never extrapolate), so the brand's national rate of 21.0% is the better guide.
Loans in AL
10
Resolved
6
Local charge-off
thin
National charge-off
21.0%
Source: SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA files (data.sba.gov), borrower state = AL. Charge-off rate = charged-off ÷ (charged-off + paid-in-full); open loans excluded. A local rate is published only when the resolved cohort clears our floor of 30 loans.
Businesses in this industry
7,968
statewide, all operators
Per 100k residents
154.5
national 179.9
Versus the country
-14%
thinner
Every business in Church'S Fried Chicken's industry operating in Alabama — franchised and independent — from the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (2023), against 2024 population estimates. Counter-intuitively, density is not a warning: across 198 brand-state cells in our loan data, the densest quartile charges off at 5.6% versus 18.1% in the thinnest. A crowded market is usually proven demand; an empty one is often empty for a reason.
Avg weekly wage, this industry
$444
Alabama, BLS QCEW 2025
National average
$537
same industry, all states
Versus the country
-17%
cheaper to staff
What Church'S Fried Chicken's industry actually pays workers in Alabama, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2025), employment-weighted across counties. This is a real cost signal independent of the FDD — a market can look demand-rich above and still carry a margin headwind here if local wages run hot for the sector.
| System | Loans in AL | Local charge-off | Units in AL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zaxby's | 40 | 0.0% | — |
| Domino's Pizza | 32 | 11.1% | — |
| Quiznos | 27 | 42.3% | — |
| HUDDLE HOUSE | 14 | 8.3% | — |
| Jimmy John's | 13 | 23.1% | — |
| Bruster'S | 12 | 30.0% | — |
| Smoothie King | 12 | thin | — |
| Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | 11 | thin | — |
| Cicis Pizza | 10 | thin | — |
| Culver's | 10 | thin | — |
| Firehouse Subs | 10 | thin | 36 |
| Little Ceasar'S Pizza | 10 | thin | — |
Same sector, same state, same public records — how Church'S Fried Chicken compares to the systems a buyer in Alabama would actually be choosing between. Local rates under 10 resolved loans are marked thin, not hidden.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Church'S Fried Chicken's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.