Brown's Chicken franchise
2024 filing · April 17, 2024
Brown's Chicken at a glance
A quick-service restaurant serving fried chicken, pasta, sandwiches and sides. At the end of 2023 there were 21 Brown's Chicken locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- Brown's Chicken, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $366K–$2.7M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross food sales, paid weekly, plus 4% for advertising; video gaming revenue carries a 10% royalty
- Brand fund
- 4%
- 4% of gross sales, paid weekly
- Renewal fee
- $5,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2023
- 21
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 21
- Company-owned
- 0
- States
- 1
- Most in Illinois
Support and records
- Lawsuits disclosed
- Yes
- Franchisor revenue, 2023
- $768K
- The company, not one location
- Franchisor net income
- $92K
- Latest filing
- Apr 17, 2024
- 2024 filing
From Brown's Chicken, LLC’s 2024 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 55; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Brown's Chicken among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Brown's Chicken | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $1,532,500 | Costs more than 89% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $25,000 | Lower than 82% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 21 | More than 50% of franchises |
How much a Brown's Chicken franchise costs
Opening one Brown's Chicken costs an estimated $366,000 to $2,699,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, page 20
Brown's Chicken franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, page 15
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross food sales, paid weekly, plus 4% for advertising; video gaming revenue carries a 10% royalty. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 4% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
| Assignment or Transfer | $5,000. |
| Renewal Fee | $5,000 |
| Additional Training for Assignee Trainee | 20% of initial franchise fee. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, page 16
Other fees as filed, from page 16. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Brown's Chicken does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, page 42
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $350K–$490K
Estimated from the royalties the franchisor collected in 2023 at its 5% royalty rate, over about 21 franchised locations.
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, page 55
SBA loans to Brown's Chicken franchisees
Lenders approved one SBA 7(a) loan for a Brown's Chicken franchisee in 2021, for $153K. It hasn’t been paid off or charged off yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Brown's Chicken compares
Of the 113 chicken franchises on this site, Brown's Chicken is the 49th cheapest to open and the 38th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Brown's Chicken | Typical chicken brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $366K | $407K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $2.7M | $868K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $25K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 4% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 21 | 10 | 21 |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | +16.7% | +16.7% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 61 of 113 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 113 brands in chicken franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 (+3) | 0 |
| 2022 | 21 (0) | 0 |
| 2023 | 21 (0) | 0 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: chicken franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, page 43
Where Brown's Chicken locations are
At the end of 2023, Brown's Chicken had franchised locations in 1 state. The most are in Illinois.
- Illinois21
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Illinois | 21 |
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, page 44
Who owns Brown's Chicken?
Brown's Chicken franchises are sold by Brown's Chicken, LLC.
From Brown's Chicken, LLC’s 2024 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 12–13. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | A predecessor of the franchisor filed for Chapter 11 in December 2009; another predecessor bought its assets in a court-approved sale in 2010. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Brown's Chicken, LLC, 2024 filing, litigation on pages 12–13, bankruptcy on page 14
Brown's Chicken filings
The figures on this page come from Brown's Chicken, LLC’s 2024 filing, issued April 17, 2024, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 filing | April 17, 2024 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2021–2023 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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