Culver vs Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Culver vs Dave's Hot Chicken including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
	Culver Franchise	Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise
Investment	$2,349,000 - $5,356,000	$419,800 - $2,386,500
Franchise Fee	$55,000	N/A
Royalty Fee	4%	-
Advertising Fee	2.5%	-
Year Founded	1984	2018
Year Franchised	1988	2018
Term Of Agreement	15 years	-
Term Of Agreement	15 years	-
Renewal Fee	$30K	-
Business Experience Requirements
	Culver Franchise	Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise
Experience	-	-
Financing Options
	Culver Franchise	Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise
	In-House/3rd Party	In-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees	No/Yes	-/-
Start-up Costs	No/Yes	-/-
Equipment	No/Yes	-/-
Inventory	No/Yes	-/-
Receivables	No/Yes	-/-
Payroll	No/Yes	-/-
Training & Support
	Culver Franchise	Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise
Training	-	-
Support	Newsletter, Meetings, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives	-
Marketing	Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising	-
Operations	30% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 40 - 50 Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)	-
Expansion Plans
	Culver Franchise	Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise
US Expansion	Yes	Yes
Canada Expansion	No	Yes
International Expansion	No	-

Start-Up Costs and Fees Mobile
Investment
Culver Franchise	$2,349,000 - $5,356,000
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	$419,800 - $2,386,500
Franchise Fee
Culver Franchise	$55,000
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	N/A
Royalty Fee
Culver Franchise	4%
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Advertising Fee
Culver Franchise	2.5%
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Year Founded
Culver Franchise	1984
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	2018
Year Franchised
Culver Franchise	1988
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	2018
Term Of Agreement
Culver Franchise	15 years
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Renewal Fee
Culver Franchise	$30K
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Business Experience Requirements
Experience
Culver Franchise	-
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Financing Options
	In-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees
Culver Franchise	No/Yes
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-/-
Start-up Costs
Culver Franchise	No/Yes
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-/-
Equipment
Culver Franchise	No/Yes
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-/-
Inventory
Culver Franchise	No/Yes
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-/-
Receivables
Culver Franchise	No/Yes
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-/-
Payroll
Culver Franchise	No/Yes
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-/-
Training & Support
Training
Culver Franchise	-
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Support
Culver Franchise	Newsletter, Meetings, Grand opening, Internet, Security/safety procedures, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Marketing
Culver Franchise	Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Operations
Culver Franchise	30% of all franchisees own more than one unit Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 40 - 50 Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators)
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-
Expansion Plans
US Expansion
Culver Franchise	Yes
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	Yes
Canada Expansion
Culver Franchise	No
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	Yes
International Expansion
Culver Franchise	No
Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise	-

Company Overviews

About Culver

After working with his parents in their restaurants, Craig Culver decided it was time to open one for himself. In 1984 Culver, with the help of his wife Lea and parents George and Ruth, transformed the A&W his parents owned since the sixties into Culver's Frozen Custard. Its founder's family inspired the menu for the initial Sauk City, Wisconsin, restaurant. When Culver's mother made hamburgers, she would put a dab of butter on the crown of the hamburger buns before toasting them; something her children felt made them taste better. Today, employees at each Culver's location use the same technique when making their ButterBurgers. There are Culver's locations in twelve states. All Culver's franchisees are owner/operators.

We’re looking for leaders with the initiative and skills to take a team of people and operate a Culver’s according to our high standards. You need energy and enthusiasm. You have to be willing to work hard. You have to love people and believe, as we do, that having a great heart is also good business.

Culver’s has grown to over 500 restaurants in 22 states.

Culver's is leading the way in the industry and in our communities. If you are craving a restaurant business made to order for you, where your financial success is directly related to how well you and your team execute against Culver’s mission that every guest who chooses Culver’s leaves happy, we invite you to consider becoming a Culver’s franchisee.

Seeking new franchise units in: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming

#9 in Franchise 500 for 2020.

#5 in Franchise 500 for 2021

About Dave's Hot Chicken

From its humble beginnings as a parking lot pop-up to a brick and mortar sensation with lines consistently around the block, Dave's can't keep up from its throngs of hot chicken fanatics. Dave's Hot Chicken is currently seeking experienced multi-unit restaurant operators. Prime territories are available throughout the country.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant (including non-traditional Restaurants) franchised business is between $419,800 and $861,500. This includes $30,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate(s).

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurant franchised business that has a drive-thru and pickup window is between $1,102,800 and $2,386,500. This includes $30,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate(s).

The total investment necessary to begin operation of two Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurants under an Area Development franchised business is between $839,600 and $4,773,000. This includes $60,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate(s).

The total investment necessary to begin operation of ten Dave’s Hot Chicken Restaurants under an Area Development franchised business is between $4,198,000 and $23,865,000. This includes between $300,000 and $335,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliate(s).

Culver vs Dave's Hot Chicken Franchise Comparison

Start-Up Costs and Fees

Business Experience Requirements

Financing Options

Training & Support

Expansion Plans