Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken franchise
2025 filing · April 28, 2025Growing
Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken at a glance
A fast-casual restaurant serving Nashville-style hot chicken tenders, sandwiches and wings. At the end of 2024 there were 95 Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken locations in the US, all franchised.
The business
- Franchisor
- Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Current franchisor selling since
- 2021
- 4 years of selling franchises
- Franchisor based in
- McLean, Virginia
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $306K–$518K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $35,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 6.5%
- 6.5% of gross revenues, paid weekly
- Brand fund
- Yes
- Up to 2% of gross revenue, paid monthly
- Renewal fee
- $2,500
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Protected
- Protected territory
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2024
- 95
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 95
- Company-owned
- 0
- Change in 3 years
- +94
- Franchised locations, 2022–2024
- States
- 18
- Most in Virginia, Maryland and Texas
Support and records
From Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 159; 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
Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $411,750 | Costs more than 56% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $35,000 | Lower than 61% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6.5% | Higher than 68% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 95 | More than 76% of franchises |
How much a Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken franchise costs
Opening one Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken costs an estimated $305,500 to $518,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements ($75,000 to $150,000) and furniture, fixtures, equipment, and smallwares ($100,000 to $150,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $35,000 | ||
| Travel and Living Expenses to Attend Initial | $3,000 | $5,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $75,000 | $150,000 | |
| Rent and Security Deposit | $15,000 | $30,000 | |
| Architectural Services | $6,000 | $15,000 | |
| Signage | $2,000 | $5,000 | |
| Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment, and Smallwares | $100,000 | $150,000 | |
| Computer Hardware, Software, and POS System | $9,000 | $12,000 | |
| Supplies/Inventory | $7,000 | $14,000 | |
| Grand Opening Advertising | $2,000 | $5,000 | |
| Payroll | $30,000 | $60,000 | |
| Insurance | $2,500 | $5,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $3,000 | $5,000 | |
| Utilities | $1,000 | $2,000 | |
| Additional Funds-90 days | $15,000 | $25,000 | |
| Total | $305,500 | $518,000 | |
Source: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 13
Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken franchise fee
The franchise fee is $35,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 10
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6.5% of gross revenues, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | Up to 2% of gross revenue, paid monthly. |
| Renewal Fee | $2,500 |
| Update Training Fee | $250 per attendee per day |
| Local Advertising | The greater of 1% of Gross Revenues the prior month or $1,000/month |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 10
Other fees as filed, from pages 10–11. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Hangry Joe's Hot 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: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 33
- Estimate Estimated yearly sales per location
- $560K–$980K
Estimated from the sales that 292 comparable franchises file, matched on industry, format, cost to open, fees and size.
SBA loans to Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken franchisees
Lenders approved 12 SBA 7(a) loans for Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken franchisees from 2023 to 2026, $4.75M in all. All 2 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off. The other 10 haven’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, 2024 / 2022–2024. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken | Typical chicken brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | +86% / +9400% | +3.7% / +27% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 2% / 100% | 2.4% / 12% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical chicken brand is the median of the 34 brands in chicken franchises with three years of counts.
How Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken compares
Of the 113 chicken franchises on this site, Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken is the 34th cheapest to open and the 18th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken | Typical chicken brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $306K | $407K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $518K | $868K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $35K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6.5% | 5% | 6% |
| US locations | 95 | 10 | 21 |
| 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 | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1 (+1) | 1 | – | – |
| 2022 | 20 (+19) | 2 | +19 | 0 |
| 2023 | 51 (+31) | 0 | +31 | 0 |
| 2024 | 95 (+44) | 0 | +45 | −1 |
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.
Over 4 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2024, franchised locations went from 0 to 95 (+95). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 34
2021: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2024 filing, page 35
Where Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken locations are
At the end of 2024, Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken had franchised locations in 18 states. The most are in Virginia, Maryland and Texas.
- Virginia34
- Maryland12
- Texas9
- Florida8
- Illinois8
- Pennsylvania4
| State | Franchised |
|---|---|
| Virginia | 34 |
| Maryland | 12 |
| Texas | 9 |
| Florida | 8 |
| Illinois | 8 |
| Pennsylvania | 4 |
| Tennessee | 4 |
| New Jersey | 3 |
| Delaware | 2 |
| North Carolina | 2 |
Source: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 35
Who owns Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken?
Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken franchises are sold by Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC. Its filing names no parent company.
From Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, page 8.
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: Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on page 9, bankruptcy on page 10
Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from Hangry Joe's Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued April 28, 2025; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | April 28, 2025 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2022–2024 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other chicken franchises
All chicken franchises
Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken is also on these lists: fast food franchises, restaurant franchises, food franchises.