Can a Chick-fil-A franchisee control the location of future Chick-fil-A restaurants?
Chick_Fil_A Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
s granted to you under the Franchise Agreement in connection with the operation of your franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant business at the specific location(s) designated by Chick-fil-A.
You will not receive an exclusive or protected territory, express or implied. The Franchise Agreement contains no exclusive grant, exclusive area, exclusive territorial rights, protected territory or right for you to exclude, disapprove, control or impose conditions on the location, development or operation of current or future Chick-fil-A Restaurants. The sales and customer trading patterns that a Chick-fil-A Restaurant experiences at any particular time are subject to change by reason of many factors, including our ongoing development of Chick-fil-A Restaurants, and franchised Operators do not have a right and should not expect that these patterns will never change. Chick-fil-A has the right to establish other Operator-run, Licensee-run or company-owned or operated restaurants both within and outside the geographic and customer trading pattern areas surrounding your franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant business location, and reserves the right to use other channels of distribution, such as the Internet, catalog sales, telemarketing, or other direct marketing both within and outside the geographic and customer trading pattern areas surrounding your franchised Chickfil-A Restaurant business location. Any internal policies that we may develop, apply and modify periodically in connection with decisions to develop new Chick-fil-A Restaurants do not grant you any contract rights, are not part of your contract, and do not modify or affect Chick-fil-A's or your contract rights and obligations under the Franchise Agreement. Chick-fil-A's internal programs and policies are subject to change or cancellation at any time by Chick-fil-A.
You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees or licensees, from outlets that we own, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control.
Our affiliates may also own and operate Chick-fil-A Restaurants or control competitive brands. We are not required to pay you if we exercise any of the rights specified above outside or inside the geographic and customer trading pattern areas surrounding your franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant business location. We do not restrict you from soliciting or accepting authorized food and beverage orders from outside the geographic and customer trading pattern areas surrounding your franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant business location (subject to your ability to comply with then-current requirements and standards), but you do not have the right to use other unapproved channels of distribution to make sales outside the geographic and customer trading pattern areas surrounding your franchised Chick-fil-A Restaurant business location.
Source: Item 12 — Territory (FDD pages 59–60)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Chick Fil A's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees do not have the right to control the location of current or future Chick-fil-A restaurants. The FDD states clearly that franchisees cannot exclude, disapprove, control, or impose conditions on where Chick-fil-A chooses to develop or operate new restaurants. Chick-fil-A retains the sole right to decide on the location of all its restaurants.
This lack of territorial control means that Chick-fil-A can establish other company-owned, operator-run, or licensee-run restaurants both within and outside the geographic and customer trading pattern areas surrounding a franchisee's location. This includes the right to use other channels of distribution, such as the Internet or direct marketing, in those same areas. The document emphasizes that a franchisee should not expect their customer trading patterns to remain unchanged due to Chick-fil-A's ongoing development of new restaurants.
While a franchisee can request to operate a Chick-fil-A restaurant at a different location, Chick-fil-A is under no obligation to grant this request. If Chick-fil-A approves a relocation, the franchisee must terminate their existing agreement, sign a new agreement, and pay a new initial franchise fee. Similarly, while franchisees may be offered the opportunity to operate additional Chick-fil-A restaurants, Chick-fil-A reserves the right to deny this opportunity. This is different from many franchise systems where franchisees are often given some form of first right of refusal or protected territory to encourage further investment and expansion within the system.
This policy gives Chick-fil-A significant control over market development and brand consistency, but it also means that franchisees face the risk of direct competition from other Chick-fil-A outlets. Prospective franchisees should carefully consider this lack of territorial protection and its potential impact on their business's profitability and long-term growth.