Who has the authority to relocate a franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant?
Chick_Fil_A Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Only Chick-fil-A may decide to relocate a franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant. If you wish to operate a Chick-fil-A Restaurant in another location instead of your existing Chick-fil-A Restaurant, Chick-fil-A may, but is under no obligation to, grant you a franchise to operate a different Chick-fil-A Restaurant, if available. Operators who are granted a franchise for a different Chick-fil-A Restaurant in this manner are required to terminate their existing Franchise Agreement and to execute a new Franchise Agreement and pay the initial franchise fee due under the new Franchise Agreement-. Operators may be granted the right to operate additional franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant businesses at locations selected and approved by Chick-fil-A. However, Chick-fil-A is under no obligation to offer you the opportunity to operate additional franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant businesses and reserves the right not to offer you the opportunity to operate additional franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant businesses.
Source: Item 12 — Territory (FDD pages 59–60)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Chick-fil-A's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Chick-fil-A retains the sole authority to decide whether to relocate a franchised restaurant. This means that as a franchisee, you cannot independently decide to move your Chick-fil-A restaurant to a new location.
If a Chick-fil-A franchisee wishes to operate their restaurant at a different location, they can request Chick-fil-A to grant them a new franchise for that location. However, Chick-fil-A is under no obligation to approve this request. If Chick-fil-A does approve the relocation and grants a new franchise, the franchisee is required to terminate their existing Franchise Agreement, execute a new Franchise Agreement, and pay the initial franchise fee associated with the new agreement.
Chick-fil-A also reserves the right to offer franchisees the opportunity to operate additional Chick-fil-A restaurants at locations selected and approved by Chick-fil-A. However, Chick-fil-A is not obligated to offer these opportunities and can choose not to offer them at its discretion. This is a common practice in franchising, where the franchisor maintains control over site selection and brand consistency. This policy ensures that Chick-fil-A can strategically manage its locations and maintain brand standards, but it also means franchisees have limited control over where their business operates.