Charleys Philly Steaks Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Charleys Philly Steaks franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2024), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Charleys Philly Steaks discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it D.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses average/median gross sales only by location type for 588 of 700 franchised restaurants (2023). Excludes 111 new and 22 closed units. No costs, expenses, or profitability data provided. Significant cherry-picking by omitting operating economics.
What a Charleys Philly Steaks franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $24,500 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 3% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 9% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $202,059 – $935,700 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Walmart locations pay additional 10% gross sales rent plus $27.50/week digital menu board fee to affiliate CPS Sites.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Charleys Philly Steaks system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 761 |
| Ceased operations | 22 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 17 |
| Closure rate | 2.9% of outlets |
22 franchised units ceased operations in 2023; zero terminations recorded; moderate churn relative to system size.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2024. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Charleys Philly Steaks worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 9% of sales | steeper than 68% of quick service restaurants franchises |
| Startup cost | from $202,059 | cheaper than most (median $481,500) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade D | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 2.9% of outlets | worse than 63% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every quick service restaurants franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Charleys Philly Steaks
The franchisor's framing: Discloses average/median gross sales only by location type for 588 of 700 franchised resta… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Charleys Philly Steaks franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Charleys Philly Steaks franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $202,059–$935,700, including a $24,500 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Charleys Philly Steaks franchise owners make?
- Discloses average/median gross sales only by location type for 588 of 700 franchised restaurants (2023). Excludes 111 new and 22 closed units. No costs, expenses, or profitability data provided. Significant cherry-picking by omitting operating economics. We grade this disclosure D for honesty.
- What are the Charleys Philly Steaks franchise fees?
- Charleys Philly Steaks' FDD discloses a $24,500 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 3% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 9% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Walmart locations pay additional 10% gross sales rent plus $27.50/week digital menu board fee to affiliate CPS Sites.
- What is the Charleys Philly Steaks franchise profit margin?
- Charleys Philly Steaks does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses average/median gross sales only by location type for 588 of 700 franchised restaurants (2023). Excludes 111 new and 22 closed units. No costs, expenses, or profitability data provided. Significant cherry-picking by omitting operating economics. Recurring fees alone take about 9% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Charleys Philly Steaks franchise failure rate?
- 22 franchised units ceased operations in 2023; zero terminations recorded; moderate churn relative to system size.
- How many Charleys Philly Steaks locations are there?
- Charleys Philly Steaks' FDD reports 761 total outlets, with 22 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 17 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Charleys Philly Steaks have complaints or lawsuits?
- Charleys Philly Steaks discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Charleys Philly Steaks franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Charleys Philly Steaks scores D on disclosure honesty, carries about 9% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Charleys Philly Steaks to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 31437-202404-08 (Clean FDD 2024). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Charleys Philly Steaks or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.