Food & Beverage

Slim Chickens Franchise

A fast-casual restaurant franchise serving chicken tenders, wings, salads, sandwiches, and dipping sauces. Originated in Arkansas and expanded both domestically and into the UK, part of the fast-growing "better chicken" fast-casual segment alongside chains like Raising Cane's and Zaxby's.

Opening more locationsFounded 2011HQ: Fayetteville, AR

On record with state regulators

This franchisor entered a 2020 Consent Order with Washington State's Securities Division (Order No. S-20-2961-20-CO01) for selling two unregistered franchises there and failing to disclose it wasn't registered in that state ($1,000 investigative-cost penalty, plus cease-and-desist terms). This is not a California DFPI action -- DFPI has no actions or orders on file for this entity. Check the Washington State Securities Division's public record directly for the full order.

Disclosed in the FDD's litigation section (Item 3)

This franchise's FDD discloses an active lawsuit filed June 2025 by a group of multi-state franchisees, alleging fraud, breach of contract, and "royalties on phantom sales" tied to average-unit-volume claims and a switch to frozen chicken. In March 2026, the court dismissed the fraud claims specifically tied to those volume representations, but other claims in the case continue. This is an unresolved dispute, not a proven finding -- California DFPI itself shows no action on file. Item 3 litigation disclosures like this are a standard, federally required part of every FDD; read the full disclosure in the current FDD before drawing conclusions.

Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from Slim Chickens's own filing.

What it costs to open

From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.

Franchise fee

$30,000

Total to open

$1,188,900–$4,944,000

Ongoing royalty

5% of gross sales

What you'd actually spend, over time

The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.

Your estimated annual revenue

Defaulted to a rough food & beverage industry average, not a figure from Slim Chickens's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.

Years of ownership

Total cost of ownership over 5 years

$1,438,900 – $5,194,000

Startup investment

$1,188,900–$4,944,000

Royalty per year (5%)

$50,000

Total royalty, 5yr

$250,000

When would you break even?

Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. Slim Chickens's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical food & beverage profit margin (~8%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.

Estimated profit margin (% of revenue)

%≈ $80,000/year

Defaulted to a general food & beverage industry benchmark, not a figure from Slim Chickens's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.

At that profit, you'd break even in about

14.9–61.8 years

Weigh that payback period against what you already know: Slim Chickens is opening more locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.

Is Slim Chickens actually growing?

Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:

Locations opened vs. closed, by year

Growing

From Item 20 of Slim Chickens's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.

+34

+24

202320242025

Year	Franchised units, start	Franchised units, end	Net change
2023	138	172	+34
2024	172	196	+24
2025	196	204	+8

Most recent year (2025): gained 8 franchised units, ending the year at 204 total.

What you're actually signing up for

The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.

Training & ongoing support (Item 11)

Before opening, Slim Chickens runs a Franchisee Ownership Training Program and a Unit Operation Training Program at existing restaurants, plus a required non-management employee training program. After opening, it provides a dedicated on-site training team for a minimum of 14 days for a franchisee's first restaurant (12 days for a second or third), an Operations Managing Training Program for additional managers, and third-party quality/cleanliness inspections (currently via Steritech).

Territory protection (Item 12)

Slim Chickens' FDD states plainly that franchisees will not receive an exclusive territory and may face competition from other franchisees, company-owned outlets, or other channels the franchisor controls. At its sole discretion, Slim Chickens may grant a much narrower Designated Area -- a radius as small as two blocks up to 1.5 miles -- but even then reserves broad rights to open Special Outlets (airports, stadiums, campuses, etc.), operate other locations outside the area, and sell through catalogs, telemarketing, or the internet into the area without compensating the franchisee.

Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)

The franchise term is 10 years with one 10-year renewal if requirements are met. Franchisees generally have no unilateral right to terminate, with one exception: if a restaurant experiences negative EBITDAR for 18 consecutive months after being open at least 60 months, the franchisee can close it under Slim Chickens' requirements. Disputes are litigated in Washington County, Arkansas (Slim Chickens' home county), with arbitration reserved specifically for fair-market-value disagreements tied to the franchisor's buy-back rights.

How Slim Chickens compares to other Food & Beverage franchises

Across the 52 food & beverage franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $860,899–$2,165,095, with royalties averaging around 5.6% of gross sales (based on the 48 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).

Dave's Hot Chicken

$617,800–$2,170,000 · 6% royalty

Ziggi's Coffee

$315,830–$2,093,361 · 6% royalty

Crumbl

$848,566–$1,472,533 · 8% royalty

Little Caesars

$376,500–$1,769,200 · 6% royalty

Jamba

$480,850–$941,300 · 6% royalty

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

$300,000–$720,500 · 6% royalty

Playa Bowls

$188,675–$636,458 · 6% royalty

Kona Ice

$114,730–$228,601 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Firehouse Subs

$166,671–$950,351 · 6% royalty

Wingstop

$310,400–$1,048,500 · 6% royalty

Jersey Mike's Subs

$436,176–$1,162,228 · 6.5% royalty

Dunkin'

$532,400–$1,832,500 · 5.9% royalty

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

$1,222,045–$3,923,245 · 5% royalty

Del Taco

$1,461,200–$3,313,500 · 5% royalty

Blaze Pizza

$757,000–$1,297,100 · 5% royalty

Church's Texas Chicken

$1,202,400–$1,886,300 · 5% royalty

MOD Pizza

$924,732–$1,220,633 · 5% royalty

Twin Peaks

$2,959,000–$5,734,000 · 5% royalty

McDonald's

$1,470,500–$2,642,000 · 5% royalty

Subway

$263,000–$630,000 · 8% royalty

Taco Bell

$1,859,750–$4,312,200 · 5.5% royalty

Domino's Pizza

$231,450–$743,500 · 5.5% royalty

KFC

$2,107,575–$4,155,000 · 5% royalty

Burger King

$2,039,200–$4,730,600 · 4.5% royalty

Chick-fil-A

$317,521–$3,463,155 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Penn Station

$507,500–$858,750 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Nekter Juice Bar

$243,155–$647,160 · 6% royalty

Jimmy John's

$366,200–$733,500 · 6% royalty

Sonic Drive-In

$1,485,200–$2,522,900 · 5% royalty

Papa John's

$281,485–$890,267 · 5% royalty

Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs

$238,982–$697,322 · 5.5% royalty

Jack in the Box

$1,909,500–$4,041,500 · 5% royalty

Wendy's

$1,523,957–$2,992,000 · 4% royalty

Marco's Pizza

$286,477–$811,186 · 5.5% royalty

Pizza Hut

$846,000–$2,130,000 · 6% royalty

Chicken Salad Chick

$777,000–$998,500 · 5% royalty

Teriyaki Madness

$392,667–$1,121,405 · 6% royalty

Cold Stone Creamery

$390,675–$680,775 · 6% royalty

Scooter's Coffee

$1,163,650–$1,345,750 · 6% royalty

Nothing Bundt Cakes

$475,200–$994,100 · 6% royalty

Five Guys

$977,850–$1,375,750 · 6% royalty

Tim Hortons

$427,500–$3,312,500 · 6% royalty

7 Brew

$940,500–$2,283,500 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Swig

$608,400–$1,718,000 · 7% royalty

Culver's

$3,406,350–$10,294,100 · 4% royalty

Dairy Queen

$1,516,200–$2,543,050 · 4% royalty

Paris Baguette

$727,515–$1,860,550 · 5% royalty

Jollibee

$1,614,568–$4,589,057 · 5% royalty

Smoothie King

$329,850–$683,215 · 6% royalty

IHOP

$380,550–$3,735,850 · 4.5% royalty

Cinnabon

$256,950–$703,500 · 6% royalty

Slim Chickens Franchise FAQ

How much does it cost to franchise a Slim Chickens?

Based on Slim Chickens's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $1,188,900–$4,944,000, including the $30,000 franchise fee. California DFPI Registration Application, App ID APP00005433, filed 4/29/2026, effective 7/8/2026. FDD issuance date April 29, 2026.

What is the Slim Chickens franchise fee and royalty rate?

The initial franchise fee is $30,000, and the ongoing royalty is 5% of gross sales, per the filing on record.

Is the Slim Chickens franchise growing or shrinking?

Growing. Across 2023–2025, Slim Chickens added a net 66 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.

Keep going

Slim Chickens and Church's Texas Chicken are both food & beverage franchises; Slim Chickens's total investment starts about $13,500 lower than Church's Texas Chicken's. Church's Texas Chicken Franchise
Slim Chickens and Scooter's Coffee are both food & beverage franchises; Scooter's Coffee's total investment starts about $25,250 lower than Slim Chickens's. Scooter's Coffee Franchise

Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Application, App ID APP00005433, filed 4/29/2026, effective 7/8/2026. FDD issuance date April 29, 2026. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-04-29. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.

If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.