Is a Churchs Chicken franchisee required to reimburse Cajun for expenses incurred while evaluating the franchisee's training facility?
Churchs_Chicken Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- (2) Certified Training Restaurants. Within 90 days after Franchisee opens its first Franchised Restaurant, Franchisee, at its own expense, must establish such Franchised Restaurant as a CTR at which a designated training manager shall conduct the MIT Program and other training programs for those designated employees of Franchisee and other Church's franchisees whose franchised Church's Restaurants are located in the same DMA as the CTR. Franchisee may offer the MIT Program at its training facility only after the facility and the designated training manager have been certified by Cajun. Cajun may
periodically visit and evaluate the CTR and the designated training manager to ensure that they continue to meet Cajun's standards, and Cajun may revoke its certification if the CTR or the designated training manager cease to meet those standards. Franchisee shall reimburse Cajun for all travel, living and other expenses incurred by Cajun in evaluating Franchisee's training facility.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 68–406)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Churchs Chicken's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee is required to reimburse Cajun for expenses related to evaluating the franchisee's training facility. Specifically, if a franchisee establishes a Certified Training Restaurant (CTR), Cajun may periodically visit and evaluate the CTR and its designated training manager to ensure they meet Cajun's standards.
The franchisee is responsible for reimbursing Cajun for all travel, living, and other expenses incurred by Cajun during these evaluations. This means that beyond the initial investment in setting up the CTR, the franchisee must also cover the costs associated with Cajun's ongoing oversight of the training facility.
This requirement ensures that Churchs Chicken maintains quality control over its training programs. It also places a financial burden on the franchisee, who must budget for these potential evaluation expenses. A prospective franchisee should consider these costs when evaluating the overall investment required to operate a Churchs Chicken franchise and should ask the franchisor for an estimate of these expenses.