CityBird franchise
2025 filing · April 20, 2025GrowingShares sales figures
CityBird at a glance
A fast-casual restaurant serving chicken tenders, tender sandwiches, salads and sides with house-made marinades and sauces. At the end of 2024 there were 8 CityBird locations in the US, 2 franchised and 6 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- CityBird Franchise Company, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchising since
- 2022
- 3 years of selling franchises
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $293K–$957K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $35,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6%
- The greater of 6% of gross sales or $500 a week, paid monthly, plus up to 3% to the marketing fund
- Brand fund
- None now
- Not charged at present (0%); up to 3% of gross sales
- Renewal fee
- $10,000
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 8
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 2
- Company-owned
- 6
- Change in 3 years
- +2
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 4
- Most in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana
From CityBird Franchise Company, LLC’s 2025 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 161; 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
CityBird among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | CityBird | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $624,750 | Costs more than 72% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $35,000 | Lower than 61% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 8 | Fewer than 65% of franchises |
How much a CityBird franchise costs
Opening one CityBird costs an estimated $292,500 to $957,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($150,000 to $500,000) and furniture, fixtures, equipment & smallwares ($50,000 to $225,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35,000 | ||
| Travel/Living Expenses While Training | $500 | $10,000 | |
| Real Estate Security Deposit and Rent (3 months) | $0 | $45,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $150,000 | $500,000 | |
| Architecture, Engineering & Buildout Management | $5,000 | $20,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment & Smallwares | $50,000 | $225,000 | |
| Interior & Exterior Signage | $5,000 | $25,000 | |
| Business Management and Technology System | $8,000 | $10,000 | |
| Licenses and Permits (Not including liquor license) | $500 | $3,000 | |
| Legal and Accounting | $2,000 | $7,500 | |
| Utility Deposits | $0 | $3,500 | |
| Insurance | $500 | $3,000 | |
| Initial Inventory of Food & Packaging Products | $6,000 | $10,000 | |
| Grand Opening Marketing Expenditure | $10,000 | ||
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $20,000 | $50,000 | |
| Total | $292,500 | $957,000 | |
Source: CityBird Franchise Company, LLC, 2025 filing, page 18
CityBird franchise fee
The franchise fee is $35,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: CityBird Franchise Company, LLC, 2025 filing, page 14
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | The greater of 6% of gross sales or $500 a week, paid monthly, plus up to 3% to the marketing fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | Not charged at present (0%); up to 3% of gross sales. |
| Technology Fee | Currently $0 per month. |
| Renewal Fee | $10,000 |
| Local Marketing Spending Requirement | Up to 3% of Gross Sales Currently 2% of Gross Sales |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: CityBird Franchise Company, LLC, 2025 filing, page 15
Other fees as filed, from pages 15–17. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures CityBird publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: CityBird Franchise Company, LLC, 2025 filing, page 58
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $830K–$1.5M
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
How CityBird compares
Of the 113 chicken franchises on this site, CityBird is the 29th cheapest to open and the 60th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | CityBird | Typical chicken brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $293K | $407K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $957K | $868K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $35K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% | 6% |
| US locations | 8 | 10 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 0% | 4.5% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 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 | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2 (+2) | 4 | +2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 2 (0) | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 (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: CityBird Franchise Company, LLC, 2025 filing, page 62
Where CityBird locations are
At the end of 2024, CityBird had locations in 4 states. The most are in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana.
- Ohio5
- Illinois1
- Indiana1
- Kentucky1
Source: CityBird Franchise Company, LLC, 2025 filing, page 62
Who owns CityBird?
CityBird franchises are sold by CityBird Franchise Company, LLC.
From CityBird Franchise Company, LLC’s 2025 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: CityBird Franchise Company, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on page 14, bankruptcy on page 14
CityBird filings
The figures on this page come from CityBird Franchise Company, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued April 20, 2025, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 20, 2025 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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