Start a Zaxby's Franchise in 2025

2025 Franchise 500 Rank: #109 Ranked #133 last year

Initial investment: $1.4M - $3.3M

Units as of 2024: 960 5.7% over 3 years

Zaxby's is a casual restaurant that offers buffalo wings, sandwiches, chicken fingers, and salads. The chain is predominantly active in the Southern United States and has more than 900 outlets. Franchisees own the majority of Zaxby's restaurants, but the company maintains over 140 locations.

A great candidate for a Zaxby's franchisee is someone who may provide opportunities for others and be an outstanding member of their community. Someone who maintains high standards and never compromises on quality, service, and effort may be valued as a franchisee. Zaxby's values loyalty, teamwork, and honesty from their franchisees.

Why You May Want to Start a Zaxby's Franchise

Consumers are looking for fresher, healthier fast-service restaurants, and, with their tenders, wings, and three-piece meals, a rising number of chicken franchises are ready and waiting. The segment is booming, and operators have many concepts to choose from. With its potential for a high return on investment, Zaxby's may stand out among the competition.

From 2014 to 2016, the Athens, Georgia-based Zaxby's, opened more than 180 restaurants.To be part of the Zaxby's team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees, including royalty fees, advertising fees, and potential renewal fees. It may be a good idea to speak with an attorney or financial advisor to ensure that you have the necessary finances to continue a Zaxby’s business. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

What Might Make Zaxby's a Good Choice?

As a Zaxby's franchisee, you can act as an individual business, but you may benefit from being part of a brand that has achieved success in a wide variety of markets. You may receive a detailed collection of operating manuals as well as comprehensive marketing materials. The franchisor usually holds an annual conference and assigns an operations consultant to each franchisee. Zaxby's franchise may include assistance that provides advice on real estate and architectural design and engineering.

As you decide if opening a Zaxby's franchise is the right decision for you, make sure you take time to explore the opportunity. Research the brand and your local area to see if a franchise location would do well in your community. While competition is healthy, too much of it may not allow for the most possible growth.

How to Start a Zaxby's Franchise

To get started with your journey to becoming a Zaxby's franchisee, you may submit an inquiry about the franchise opportunity. If you are seen as a good fit, a Zaxby's franchise representative may contact you for further information and to begin the franchising process.

The Zaxby's franchise might have you travel to Athens, Georgia, to work in their store and determine if you are a good fit. Working for a few days while being supervised by a Zaxby's operations specialist may allow you to understand what is expected when partnering with the company. You may also have the chance to speak with current franchisees to get a feel for what it is like to be a franchisee with the brand.

If all goes well during the franchising process, you may soon start construction on your own Zaxby's franchise location.

Company Overview

About Zaxby's

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Chicken
Founded	1990
Parent Company	Zaxby's SPE Franchisor LLC
Leadership	Mike Mettler, CDO
Corporate Address	1040 Founders Blvd. Athens, GA 30606
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1994 (31 years)
# of employees at HQ	290
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises in the following US states: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia
# of Units	960 (as of 2024)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Zaxby's franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$35,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$1,406,700 - $3,323,200
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$1,000,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$750,000
Veteran Incentives Definition: A discount or other incentive offered to military veterans who buy a franchise with this company.	20% off franchise fee
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	6%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	3%-4%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Zaxby's has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: franchise fee, startup costs, equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	288-432 hours
Classroom Training	51 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes