Anyone here own a Chick Fil A

WildcatFan1982

Active member
Dec 4, 2011
21,187
17,477
81
I have heard that the money isn't as good as you would think considering how popular it is.
 

UKRob 73

New member
Jan 25, 2007
14,967
20,954
0
They are very lucrative, especially for the restaurant business. Very tough to land one. They want you to have $1 mill liquid and the real kicker, you have to run it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Get Buckets

cricket3

Well-known member
May 29, 2001
18,988
19,385
113
I think all of the Chick-Fil-a’s in Lexington except Hamburg are operated by the same guy.
 

LineSkiCat14

Well-known member
Aug 5, 2015
37,308
57,141
113
Seems like a heck of a lot of work. What sort of ROI are they getting?

Then again, imagine if fast food continues to become automated, and instead of hiring 20 knuckle-heads and dealing with THAT nightmare, you just need to a company to repair the equipment. Hmmm..
 
  • Like
Reactions: chroix

DSmith21

New member
Mar 27, 2012
8,297
13,023
0
People used to think the same "easy money" about owning a McDonald's. It is not uncommon to read about some of those franchisees blowing their brains out because they work so hard and they make little or they can't unload it without McDonald's blessing the deal, etc.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: J_Dee

Ryan Lemonds Hair

Well-known member
May 31, 2018
15,257
30,634
98
I’ll never understand why anyone with half a brain would get into the restaurant business. Mind boggling.
It's the glitz and glamour that TV shows Portray. Gordon Ramsey jet setting around the world in his private jet and rubbing elbows with celebrities makes them think that is how all chefs are. It's the same reason my daughter thought she wanted to be a doctor after watching Grey's Anatomy until she started working in a doctors office during her first year of college and realized it isn't the same as it is on TV.
 

LineSkiCat14

Well-known member
Aug 5, 2015
37,308
57,141
113
I’ll never understand why anyone with half a brain would get into the restaurant business. Mind boggling.

It's the glitz and glamour that TV shows Portray. Gordon Ramsey jet setting around the world in his private jet and rubbing elbows with celebrities makes them think that is how all chefs are. It's the same reason my daughter thought she wanted to be a doctor after watching Grey's Anatomy until she started working in a doctors office during her first year of college and realized it isn't the same as it is on TV.

I think it was something that worked well in the 70's 80's and 90's. But you can't really have a dump of a bar anymore, and you can't just have 3 beers and 8 bottles of liquor. Some of these bars that have popped up near me the last few years were at least a million to build/renovate.. and many of them are sucking wind. Plus, there's no way you're not working 70+ hour weeks and pulling your hair out.

We always wanted to get back into the family bar/restaurant business, but everytime we start talking about, the convo ends a day or two later with a "Are we out of our minds!?"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ryan Lemonds Hair

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
They are very lucrative, especially for the restaurant business. Very tough to land one. They want you to have $1 mill liquid and the real kicker, you have to run it.
Incorrect. They do not care about your net worth. It is a $10K franchise fee. And you do have run it. One of the reasons they are so successful is requiring hands on owners.
 

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
I think all of the Chick-Fil-a’s in Lexington except Hamburg are operated by the same guy.
Also incorrect.

Nich Road and Turfland have same owner.
Hamburg and Richmond Road have same owner.
Mall has a separate owner.
The one going in on northside will have a different owner.

Very few owners are allowed more than one store. You have to be a top 10% operator to qualify for two stores and then there is no guarantee you will get another.
 

cricket3

Well-known member
May 29, 2001
18,988
19,385
113
Didn't Stryker use to own the one in the mall?

And I knew the one on Richmond Rd was a repeat owner but I didn't remember which one.
 

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
Didn't Stryker use to own the one in the mall?

And I knew the one on Richmond Rd was a repeat owner but I didn't remember which one.
His first store was the Fayette Mall CFA. He had to give that one up to get the Turfland FSU store, and then eventually got his second store at the Nich Rd FSU.
 

P19978

New member
Mar 30, 2004
9,319
24,571
0
Also incorrect.

Nich Road and Turfland have same owner.
Hamburg and Richmond Road have same owner.
Mall has a separate owner.
The one going in on northside will have a different owner.

Very few owners are allowed more than one store. You have to be a top 10% operator to qualify for two stores and then there is no guarantee you will get another.
It is VERY DIFFICULT to get more than one store.
 

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
You can’t own a CFA. You can manage it. If you’re really good at your job, CFA might offer you a corporate gig.
Technically incorrect. You are considered the owner/operator of the franchised unit and have lots of autonomy. The profit split for operators rewards them handsomely. If you give up a store to go to corporate you will likely be taking a large pay cut unless you are going in at a very high level at corporate.
 

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
It is VERY DIFFICULT to get more than one store.
You are absolutely correct. My cousin was the first operator to ever get two stores and it was a very difficult process. I’ve watched another operator go through all the hoops to get his second store and it is an exhaustive and difficult process.
 

Cawood86_rivals

New member
Feb 20, 2005
36,711
64,713
0
I love how Chik Fil A triggers so many. Good food. Very well ran. Do everything they can to make the customer's experience one that will make them want to come back.
All those that claim to be a champion of tolerance and coexisting grind their teeth at the mention of Chik Fil A. It's almost as if they don't really have tolerance or believe in coexisting. Hypocrisy is the word.
 

JDHoss

Well-known member
Jan 1, 2003
16,417
39,842
113
I love how Chik Fil A triggers so many. Good food. Very well ran. Do everything they can to make the customer's experience one that will make them want to come back.
All those that claim to be a champion of tolerance and coexisting grind their teeth at the mention of Chik Fil A. It's almost as if they don't really have tolerance or believe in coexisting. Hypocrisy is the word.
Good spicy chikin sammidge, second only to Popeye's. The sweet tea is usually spot on. The rest of it is pretty "meh" to me. I've gotten a couple of chikin biscuits from them that were doughy to the point of being inedible and I wound up just eating the chikin.
 

Ron Mehico

New member
Jan 4, 2008
15,473
33,054
0
And you would be incredibly wrong.

I mean what are we talking here? People have different ideas of profitable. If you told me I’d make 100k running a fast food restaurant open 6 days a week with 17 year old kids smelling like French fries when I got home I’d tell you to go pound sand.
 
  • Like
Reactions: J_Dee

Cawood86_rivals

New member
Feb 20, 2005
36,711
64,713
0
Good spicy chikin sammidge, second only to Popeye's. The sweet tea is usually spot on. The rest of it is pretty "meh" to me. I've gotten a couple of chikin biscuits from them that were doughy to the point of being inedible and I wound up just eating the chikin.
Well, even Babe Ruth struck out every now and then. The one where I live is usually spot on.
 

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
I mean what are we talking here? People have different ideas of profitable. If you told me I’d make 100k running a fast food restaurant open 6 days a week with 17 year old kids smelling like French fries when I got home I’d tell you to go pound sand.
I mean what are we talking here? People have different ideas of profitable. If you told me I’d make 100k running a fast food restaurant open 6 days a week with 17 year old kids smelling like French fries when I got home I’d tell you to go pound sand.
Well, I’ll put it this way, if you were a CFA operator and only made $100k a year you wouldn’t be a CFA operator for very long.

Even mall operators who are going to be the lowest earners among operators will make 4-5x that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Mehico

UKRob 73

New member
Jan 25, 2007
14,967
20,954
0
Technically incorrect. You are considered the owner/operator of the franchised unit and have lots of autonomy. The profit split for operators rewards them handsomely. If you give up a store to go to corporate you will likely be taking a large pay cut unless you are going in at a very high level at corporate.

He isn't incorrect at all. You own NO equity. When you retire it's chic filas store, not yours.
 

UKRob 73

New member
Jan 25, 2007
14,967
20,954
0
Incorrect. They do not care about your net worth. It is a $10K franchise fee. And you do have run it. One of the reasons they are so successful is requiring hands on owners.

Went through a 6 month interview process with a current owner years ago to open one. He is a restaurant guy, I was going to provide financing. While true that the franchising fee is only $10k, it's misleading. First, that has nothing to with you being accepted as an " owner". They accept .13% of all applicants, it's easier to get into Harvard than a chik fila. Secondly, it's low because they pay for and own EVERYTHING. Land, building, equipment etc. In return they take 15% of all sales and 50% of profit. So you don't own ANYTHING.
One of the MANY things they wanted to see at the time was a significant amount of liquid assets. It shows responsibility, work ethic, stability. They don't want operators + investers, hence the reason we were rejected, but be alone eventually opened one. It included months and months, dozens of interviews, dozens of written essays etc.
It's a good gig for someone that wants to work 60+ hours a week and make a good living. But with no equity, you aren't making life changing income.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shydog

UKRob 73

New member
Jan 25, 2007
14,967
20,954
0
Technically incorrect. You are considered the owner/operator of the franchised unit and have lots of autonomy. The profit split for operators rewards them handsomely. If you give up a store to go to corporate you will likely be taking a large pay cut unless you are going in at a very high level at corporate.

He isn't incorrect at all, you don't OWN anything. Chik fila is a NO EQUITY franchise. When you retire, it's their store, not yours. They own land, equipment, building, everything.
 

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
He isn't incorrect at all. You own NO equity. When you retire it's chic filas store, not yours.
That’s true but you are the owner/operator with significant control of your store. You don’t have equity and can’t sell it or leave it to your family.

But you are technically the owner. It is definitely not a standard franchise model.
 

TruBluCatFan

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2001
19,301
10,086
113
Went through a 6 month interview process with a current owner years ago to open one. He is a restaurant guy, I was going to provide financing. While true that the franchising fee is only $10k, it's misleading. First, that has nothing to with you being accepted as an " owner". They accept .13% of all applicants, it's easier to get into Harvard than a chik fila. Secondly, it's low because they pay for and own EVERYTHING. Land, building, equipment etc. In return they take 15% of all sales and 50% of profit. So you don't own ANYTHING.
One of the MANY things they wanted to see at the time was a significant amount of liquid assets. It shows responsibility, work ethic, stability. They don't want operators + investers, hence the reason we were rejected, but be alone eventually opened one. It included months and months, dozens of interviews, dozens of written essays etc.
It's a good gig for someone that wants to work 60+ hours a week and make a good living. But with no equity, you aren't making life changing income.
You are partially correct. They do put a high value on being a good steward. But net worth and liquidity are not the primary factors. Showing you know how to take care of what you had trumps net worth.

And the $10K is irrelevant. If they think you will be a good operator they don’t care about the $10K.

I haven’t looked at the numbers for the most recent year but your .13% of all applicants is definitely on target. Incredibly difficult to get a store. And even if you are selected you don’t get to choose the location.

I could have saved you the time. They have never accepted people who wanted a store as an investment and have always been open about it. Not sure exactly what you were going to finance though since they buy the property and pay for the building.
And they do expect you to put in a lot of hours early on and be a hands on owner. However, most every operator I know builds the store and gets a good team operating it and the hours become very manageable.

And obviously you live in a different tax bracket than most people I know if $600K(and most make more than that) a year isn’t life changing income. That much gives you the opportunity to live comfortably and invest well for the future. It’s not a lottery but gives you a great income for a long time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aike and uk_bill

BlueVelvetFog

Active member
Apr 12, 2016
13,441
17,936
78
You are partially correct. They do put a high value on being a good steward. But net worth and liquidity are not the primary factors. Showing you know how to take care of what you had trumps net worth.

And the $10K is irrelevant. If they think you will be a good operator they don’t care about the $10K.

I haven’t looked at the numbers for the most recent year but your .13% of all applicants is definitely on target. Incredibly difficult to get a store. And even if you are selected you don’t get to choose the location.

I could have saved you the time. They have never accepted people who wanted a store as an investment and have always been open about it. Not sure exactly what you were going to finance though since they buy the property and pay for the building.
And they do expect you to put in a lot of hours early on and be a hands on owner. However, most every operator I know builds the store and gets a good team operating it and the hours become very manageable.

And obviously you live in a different tax bracket than most people I know if $600K(and most make more than that) a year isn’t life changing income. That much gives you the opportunity to live comfortably and invest well for the future. It’s not a lottery but gives you a great income for a long time.
How do you know all this?