What training programs does Churchs Chicken make available for new franchisees and their employees?
Churchs_Chicken Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
avel, accommodations, meals, and employee wages and benefits.
Before opening your first Restaurant, your Operating Principal and up to 4 designated management employees (we decide the exact number, which must be at least 2 for your first Restaurant, and at least 2 for each additional Restaurant) must attend and complete, to our satisfaction, our initial Pathway to Excellence Advanced Operations and Leadership Training Program (the "Training Program"). We offer the Training Program on an as-needed basis. This training provides certification for Assistant Restaurant Managers and Restaurant General Managers. If your management employees complete the Training Program to our satisfaction, we will issue certificates of completion to these trainees who will become "Certified Managers." You must maintain at least 2 Certified Managers in the employ of each Restaurant throughout the term of the Franchise Agreement; we may require that you maintain more than 2 Certified Managers. You must enroll a qualified replacement in the Training Program for any Certified Manager who ceases active employment at your Restaurant within 30 days after the former employee's last day of employment. The replacement employee must join the next scheduled Training Program, at your expense, at a Certified Training Restaurant ("CTR"). If the CTR is operated by another franchisee, you may be instructed to pay the training fee directly to the other franchisee. The current fee for the Training Program for each employee, after the first 2 employees, is $1,250.
We also may periodically make available to you and your employees additional training programs that we, in our discretion, choose to conduct. Attendance at these additional, training programs may be mandatory. Although we do not currently charge a fee for additional mandatory training programs and related materials, we reserve the right to charge fees in the future to cover the cost of presenting the additional mandatory training programs and producing the related materials. You will be responsible for all expenses that you and your management employees incur in connection with training, such as cost of travel, accommodations, meals, and employee wages and benefits. Optional training programs (instruction and required materials) may be offered to Franchisees for a fee.
We designed our Training Program to educate you and your managers in all phases of the quickservice restaurant industry as related to the operation of the Restaurant. The Training Program will be conducted at a CTR and will last 5 weeks. However, if you have prior quick-service restaurant operations experience, the length of the Training Program may be reduced to 3 weeks since the subjects can be taught more quickly. Before attending the Training Program you must successfully satisfy all the requirements of our Pathway to Excellence Team Training Program which is focused on the line level tasks performed in a Restaurant, including, but not limited to, product preparation procedures and recipes, customer service, food safety, and facility cleanliness and maintenance. The Pathway to Excellence Advanced Operations and Leadership Training Program builds on this knowledge base and addresses management responsibilities
related to these tasks such as scheduling, cash management, inventory control, ordering, sales generation and profitability.
All Training and Development Department personnel have extensive experience in operations with us and other food service companies. Our training staff has the responsibility of developing and delivering training programs and training support materials. We employ the following individuals on our training staff:
Director, Global Operations Training: Bouran Qaddumi. Ms. Qaddumi has been involved with our training program since 2016. She has more than 20 years of experience in restaurant operations training. Ms. Qaddumi is also a certified ServSafe® instructor and exam proctor.
National Field Trainer: Lorna Lewis. Ms.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 35–43)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Churchs Chicken's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, new franchisees and their employees have access to several training programs. Franchisees must complete the New Franchisee Orientation Program (NFOP), a 2-day workshop and seminar held at Churchs Chicken's corporate offices in Atlanta, Georgia. While there is no fee for NFOP, franchisees are responsible for their own expenses, including travel, accommodations, meals, and wages.
Before opening their first restaurant, the Operating Principal and a minimum of two designated management employees must complete the Pathway to Excellence Advanced Operations and Leadership Training Program. This program provides certification for Assistant Restaurant Managers and Restaurant General Managers, resulting in "Certified Managers." Franchisees must maintain at least two Certified Managers at each restaurant throughout the term of the Franchise Agreement. If a Certified Manager leaves, a qualified replacement must be enrolled in the next scheduled Training Program within 30 days, at the franchisee's expense. The current fee for this training program is $1,250 per employee after the first two employees.
The initial Training Program lasts 5 weeks but may be reduced to 3 weeks for those with prior quick-service restaurant operations experience. Before attending the Training Program, franchisees must satisfy the requirements of the Pathway to Excellence Team Training Program, which focuses on line-level tasks such as product preparation, customer service, food safety, and facility maintenance. All training occurs at a Certified Training Restaurant (CTR). Churchs Chicken may also periodically offer additional training programs, which may be mandatory, and may charge fees for these programs in the future.