Chicken Salad Chick vs Potbelly Sandwich Shop Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Chicken Salad Chick vs Potbelly Sandwich Shop including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Chicken Salad Chick Franchise
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Franchise
Investment $562,000 - $740,000$534,950 - $874,000
Franchise Fee $50,000$40,000
Royalty Fee 5%6%
Advertising Fee 2%Up to 4%
Year Founded 01977
Year Franchised 02009
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Chicken Salad Chick Franchise
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Franchise
Experience -Potbelly is looking for "Potbelly People" to become franchisees. That means people that love working with a team, have solid business experience (not necessarily in restaurants), the financial qualifications, possess personal motivation and have been successful. Our franchise owner/operator model is a two person team. Whether a family partnership or a business partnership we are looking for an operating team that wants to be owners of the neighborhood sandwich shop within their community.

Financing Options
 
Chicken Salad Chick Franchise
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Franchise
  In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
Franchise Fees No/No-/Yes
Start-up Costs No/No-/Yes
Equipment No/No-/Yes
Inventory No/No-/Yes
Receivables No/No-/Yes
Payroll No/No-/Yes

Training & Support
 
Chicken Salad Chick Franchise
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Franchise
Training

Ten days of training at Corporate Training Facility in Auburn, Alabama for three key franchise employees

All new franchisees participate in a 10-12 week training program. This consists of real life experience in one of our company-owned training shops. In addition, we will train your key holding employees for 6 weeks at one of our company-owned training shops. Once completed, franchisees receive regular updates to their training along with our company-owned stores, including regular on site reviews. On-The-Job Training: 355 hours Classroom Training: 80 hours

Support

*Opening support for ten days at your location, coordinated around the store’s grand opening. *Restaurant opening guide. *Training manuals for franchise staff. *Accounting applications training. *Comprehensive decor package for interior design of restaurant. *Marketing, public relations and promotion plans for use by each franchisee. *Access to our in-house team of trainers, public relations and marketing professionals and business experts. *Periodic visits to each of your locations to provide support and counsel. *Site selection counsel and approval, working together to identify appropriate demographics, traffic patterns, ingress and egress, and more. *Additional real estate site support includes: Architectural drawings of a typical floor plan with a finishing schedule. General data for plumbing and electrical in partnership with equipment vendor.

Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing -Ad Templates Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
Operations -

Expansion Plans
 
Chicken Salad Chick Franchise
Potbelly Sandwich Shop Franchise
US Expansion YesYes
Canada Expansion Yes-
International Expansion YesYes

Company Overviews

About Chicken Salad Chick

Simply Southern Restaurant Group is proud to serve as the exclusive franchisor of the freshest, most unique lunch and dinner concept in the industry today.
Chicken Salad Chick is an exciting concept, one that allows us to offer our franchisees an opportunity to build a business in a virtually untapped market. We offer customers a "custom-fit" Chicken Salad Experience, with 15 original flavors to choose from, as well as gourmet soups, flavorful side salads and freshly-baked desserts. There's truly something for everyone! The minimum financial requirements to own a Chicken Salad Chick is $125,000 liquid capital and $500,000 net worth per location.

If you enter into an Area Development Agreement for multiple restaurants, you will be required to pay the initial franchise fee for the first location and a non-refundable development fee of $20,000 for each additional Chicken Salad Chick restaurant to be developed. The remaining $25,000 of the franchise fee for subsequent locations is paid to the franchisor and a $10,000 grand opening marketing fee is paid to our Affiliate, upon signing the franchise agreement for each additional location.



"Top
#18 in Gator's Top franchises.
#322 in Franchise 500 for 2021.  Not in Franchise 500 for 2020.




About Potbelly Sandwich Shop

From its humble beginnings as a small antique store on Chicago's North Side, Potbelly has grown from one to more than 200 shops serving neighborhoods in 12 states. Potbelly's unique experience is defined by its combination of toasty warm sandwiches, hand-dipped shakes, tasty made-to-order salads, live local music, as well as friendly and lively people. Potbelly has built a passionate, loyal following of fans that spread the word about the fun, energetic atmosphere and great food.

#131 in Franchise 500 for 2020.