Chi Tea franchise
2026 filing · January 30, 2026Shares sales figures
Chi Tea at a glance
A restaurant serving Nashville-style hot chicken, smash burgers, loaded fries and bubble teas. At the end of 2025 there were 6 Chi Tea locations in the US, all company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Madinah Master Franchising LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $301K–$549K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $40,000
- Plus a $6,000 grand opening fee
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of monthly gross sales, plus 1% to the marketing fund
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross sales
- Agreement length
- 10 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 6
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 0
- Company-owned
- 6
- Change in 3 years
- 0
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
From Madinah Master Franchising LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Where it ranks
Chi Tea among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Chi Tea | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $424,605 | Costs more than 57% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $40,000 | Lower than 46% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 6 | Fewer than 69% of franchises |
How much a Chi Tea franchise costs
Opening one Chi Tea costs an estimated $300,542 to $548,667. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Madinah Master Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 17
Chi Tea franchise fee
The franchise fee is $40,000, plus a $6,000 grand opening fee. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Madinah Master Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of monthly gross sales, plus 1% to the marketing fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross sales. |
| Replacement/Additional Training fee | Currently, $250 per day plus expenses for travel, food, lodging |
| Local Marketing/Required Spending | 4% of your gross sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Madinah Master Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 12–13. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Chi Tea publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Madinah Master Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 41
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $780K–$1.4M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How Chi Tea compares
Of the 56 bubble tea franchises on this site, Chi Tea is the 40th cheapest to open and the 30th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Chi Tea | Typical bubble tea brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $301K | $264K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $549K | $502K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $40K | $40K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| US locations | 6 | 8 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 19 of 56 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 56 brands in bubble tea franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 (0) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 (0) | 6 | 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: Madinah Master Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 43
Who owns Chi Tea?
Chi Tea franchises are sold by Madinah Master Franchising LLC.
From Madinah Master Franchising LLC’s 2026 filing.
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: Madinah Master Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Chi Tea filings
The figures on this page come from Madinah Master Franchising LLC’s 2026 filing, issued January 30, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | January 30, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other bubble tea franchises
All bubble tea franchises
Chi Tea is also on these lists: chicken franchises, restaurant franchises, food franchises.