CHESTER'S® Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a CHESTER'S® franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2007), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
CHESTER'S® discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it does not make representations about future or past outlet financial performance.
What a CHESTER'S® franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $2,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Advertising fund | 0.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 0.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $15,500 – $306,500 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Training $2,000-$3,500; Quarterly marketing $200-$325; POS tech $250-$350/mo; Various operational fees; No royalty/ad percentage stated
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
CHESTER'S® system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 918 |
| Ceased operations | 151 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 11 |
| Transferred to new owners | 15 |
| Closure rate | 16.4% of outlets |
376 outlets ceased/terminated in 3 years (37% turnover). Significant exit rate signals risk.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2007. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is CHESTER'S® worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 0.5% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $15,500 | cheaper than most (median $481,500) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 16.4% of outlets | worse than 92% 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 CHESTER'S®
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it does n… 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
CHESTER'S® franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a CHESTER'S® franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $15,500–$306,500, including a $2,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do CHESTER'S® franchise owners make?
- CHESTER'S® discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the CHESTER'S® franchise fees?
- CHESTER'S®'s FDD discloses a $2,000 initial franchise fee, a 0.5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 0.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Training $2,000-$3,500; Quarterly marketing $200-$325; POS tech $250-$350/mo; Various operational fees; No royalty/ad percentage stated
- What is the CHESTER'S® franchise profit margin?
- CHESTER'S® discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the CHESTER'S® franchise failure rate?
- 376 outlets ceased/terminated in 3 years (37% turnover). Significant exit rate signals risk.
- How many CHESTER'S® locations are there?
- CHESTER'S®'s FDD reports 918 total outlets, with 151 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 15 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does CHESTER'S® have complaints or lawsuits?
- CHESTER'S® 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 CHESTER'S® franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. CHESTER'S® scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 0.5% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare CHESTER'S® to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2007). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with CHESTER'S® or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.