Layne's Chicken Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Layne's Chicken franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Layne's Chicken discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Gross revenue data for 15 franchised restaurants (2025). Traditional avg $2.2M (range $1.5M-$2.9M); non-traditional avg $1.3M (range $591K-$2.5M). Food 25%, paper 4%, labor 22% costs. Cherry-picking: Only 15 of 36 franchised units included; 21 newer units excluded.
What a Layne's Chicken franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 7% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $481,500 – $1,555,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 5% + Brand Dev 2% + Local Marketing 1% + Ad Co-op up to 5%. POS maintenance $4.8K-$7.2K/yr, tech capped at $500/mo or $6K/yr.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Layne's Chicken system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 40 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
Zero terminations, closures, or non-renewals in 2025. Rapid growth (19→40 outlets) may mask underlying challenges.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Layne's Chicken worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 7% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $481,500 | about average (median $481,500) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 1.3%) |
| 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 Layne's Chicken
The franchisor's framing: Gross revenue data for 15 franchised restaurants (2025). Traditional avg $2.2M (range $1.5… 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
Layne's Chicken franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Layne's Chicken franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $481,500–$1,555,000, including a $50,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Layne's Chicken franchise owners make?
- Gross revenue data for 15 franchised restaurants (2025). Traditional avg $2.2M (range $1.5M-$2.9M); non-traditional avg $1.3M (range $591K-$2.5M). Food 25%, paper 4%, labor 22% costs. Cherry-picking: Only 15 of 36 franchised units included; 21 newer units excluded. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Layne's Chicken franchise fees?
- Layne's Chicken's FDD discloses a $50,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 7% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 5% + Brand Dev 2% + Local Marketing 1% + Ad Co-op up to 5%. POS maintenance $4.8K-$7.2K/yr, tech capped at $500/mo or $6K/yr.
- What is the Layne's Chicken franchise profit margin?
- Layne's Chicken does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Gross revenue data for 15 franchised restaurants (2025). Traditional avg $2.2M (range $1.5M-$2.9M); non-traditional avg $1.3M (range $591K-$2.5M). Food 25%, paper 4%, labor 22% costs. Cherry-picking: Only 15 of 36 franchised units included; 21 newer units excluded. Recurring fees alone take about 7% 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 Layne's Chicken franchise failure rate?
- Zero terminations, closures, or non-renewals in 2025. Rapid growth (19→40 outlets) may mask underlying challenges.
- How many Layne's Chicken locations are there?
- Layne's Chicken's FDD reports 40 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Layne's Chicken have complaints or lawsuits?
- Layne's Chicken 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 Layne's Chicken franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Layne's Chicken scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 7% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Layne's Chicken to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 35973-202604-08 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Layne's Chicken or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.