Chaps Pit Beef franchise
2022 filing · March 30, 2022Growing
Chaps Pit Beef at a glance
A Baltimore-style pit beef restaurant serving charcoal-grilled beef, turkey and ham sandwiches. At the end of 2021 there were 6 Chaps Pit Beef locations in the US, 4 franchised and 2 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2017
- 5 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Kingsville, Maryland
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $335K–$819K
- A Chaps Pit Beef restaurant without alcohol
- Franchise fee
- $30,000
- Additional restaurants under a multi-unit agreement are $20,000 each
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of weekly gross sales, paid every Tuesday
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2021
- 6
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 4
- Company-owned
- 2
- Change in 3 years
- +3
- Franchised locations, 2019–2021
- States
- 3
- Most in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania
Support and records
- Initial training
- 4 programs
- Franchisee (operating partner): 40 hours in class and 40 on the job; General manager: 68 hours in class and 160 on the job; Kitchen manager: 48 hours in class and 120 on the job; Pit master: 32 hours in class and 88 on the job
- Lawsuits disclosed
- None
- Bankruptcy disclosed
- None
- Latest filing
- Mar 30, 2022
- 2022 filing
From Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC’s 2022 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Chaps Pit Beef among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Chaps Pit Beef | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $577,150 | Costs more than 69% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $30,000 | Lower than 72% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 6 | Fewer than 69% of franchises |
How much a Chaps Pit Beef franchise costs
Opening a Chaps Pit Beef restaurant without alcohol costs an estimated $335,300 to $819,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are construction and leasehold improvements ($50,000 to $250,000) and equipment ($25,000 to $175,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $30,000 | ||
| Real Property Security Deposit | $5,000 | $15,000 | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $50,000 | $250,000 | |
| Furnishings | $12,000 | $35,000 | |
| Fixtures | $12,000 | $15,000 | |
| Equipment | $25,000 | $175,000 | |
| Computer System | $12,000 | $25,000 | |
| Signs | $5,000 | $20,000 | |
| Initial Inventory | $35,000 | $50,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $5,000 | $15,000 | |
| Licenses, Permits and Fees | $500 | $2,500 | |
| Utility Deposits and Fees | $1,500 | $3,500 | |
| Insurance | $3,000 | $9,000 | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $1,800 | $15,000 | |
| Opening Assistance Travel | $0 | $4,000 | |
| Pre-Opening Marketing Promotion | $2,500 | $5,000 | |
| Additional Funds – 3 mos. | $135,000 | $150,000 | |
| Total | $335,300 | $819,000 | |
Source: Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC, 2022 filing, page 22
Chaps Pit Beef franchise fee
The franchise fee is $30,000, additional restaurants under a multi-unit agreement are $20,000 each. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC, 2022 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of weekly gross sales, paid every Tuesday. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross sales. |
| Technology Update Fee | Our then current fee; our current fee is $100 per month |
| Transfer Fee | $2,500 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC, 2022 filing, pages 12 and 13
Other fees as filed, from pages 14–16. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Chaps Pit Beef 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: Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC, 2022 filing, page 66
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $600K–$1.1M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Chaps Pit Beef franchisees
Lenders approved 4 SBA 7(a) loans for Chaps Pit Beef franchisees from 2018 to 2019, $1.03M in all. All 3 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off. The other one hasn’t ended 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
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2021 / 2019–2021. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Chaps Pit Beef | Typical sandwich brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | 0% / +300% | 0% / 0% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 0% | 2% / 13% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical sandwich brand is the median of the 35 brands in sandwich franchises with three years of counts.
How Chaps Pit Beef compares
Of the 80 sandwich franchises on this site, Chaps Pit Beef is the 43rd cheapest to open and the 50th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Chaps Pit Beef | Typical sandwich brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $335K | $321K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $819K | $683K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $30K | $32K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 6% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| US locations | 6 | 31 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 50 of 80 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 80 brands in sandwich franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2 (+1) | 2 | +1 | 0 |
| 2020 | 4 (+2) | 2 | +2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 4 (0) | 2 | 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: sandwich and sub franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC, 2022 filing, page 67
Where Chaps Pit Beef locations are
At the end of 2021, Chaps Pit Beef had locations in 3 states. The most are in Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania.
- Maryland4
- Delaware1
- Pennsylvania1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Delaware | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC, 2022 filing, page 69
Who owns Chaps Pit Beef?
Chaps Pit Beef franchises are sold by Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC’s 2022 filing, page 6.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
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: Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC, 2022 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Chaps Pit Beef filings
The figures on this page come from Chaps Pit Beef Franchising LLC’s 2022 filing, issued March 30, 2022, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 filing | March 30, 2022 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2019–2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other sandwich franchises
All sandwich franchises
Chaps Pit Beef is also on these lists: restaurant franchises, food franchises.