HCK Hot Chicken

The vendor opportunity at HCK Hot Chicken

HCK Hot Chicken is a quick-service restaurant brand headquartered in Virginia. According to its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system consists of 10 total units—9 franchised and 1 company-owned. Year-over-year unit growth stands at 80%, signaling an aggressive expansion trajectory. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is 9 franchised locations, with new units likely coming online at a fast clip. The brand charges a 6.0% royalty on gross sales and offers an initial franchise term of 10 years. Average unit volume is not disclosed in the most recent FDD.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2025 FDD lists two executives in Item 1: Michael Sarago, CEO and Co-Founder, and Frederic Gilmore, Chief Culinary Officer and COO. In a system of this size, both individuals are the probable buying center for any software evaluation. There is no separate CIO, CTO, or VP of Technology named in the disclosure. Vendors should expect that a pitch lands directly with the co-founder and operations leadership, not a dedicated IT procurement function. No parent company is on file; the brand appears independently owned.

Mandated and current tech stack

HCK Hot Chicken does not disclose any mandated or recommended technology systems in its 2025 FDD. Item 11, which typically lists required POS, back-office, accounting, or inventory platforms, contains no named vendors or system specifications. This absence means franchisees may currently select their own technology, or the franchisor has not formalized a tech mandate. For software sellers, this represents either a greenfield opportunity or a signal that the brand has not yet prioritized technology standardization.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract describing procurement restrictions, designated suppliers, or approved-supplier programs. Without that data, it is unclear whether franchisees must buy from specific vendors or may choose freely. On the renewal side, Item 17 states that a franchisee in good standing may enter into two consecutive successor agreements of 10 years each, though the successor contract may contain materially different terms. After those two renewals, there is no further contractual right to renew, but the franchisee may apply for a new agreement. The combination of rapid unit growth and 10-year term cycles suggests that new-store openings—rather than renewals—will be the primary trigger for software evaluation windows in the near term.

How to read the HCK Hot Chicken FDD

The full 2025 FDD is embedded below. It was filed with state franchise regulators and contains the standard 23 items, including the franchise agreement, financial performance representations (if any), and the list of current and former franchisees. For software vendors, the most actionable sections are Item 1 (the executives named above), Item 11 (no tech mandates disclosed), and Item 17 (renewal and term structure). Because the system is small and the executive team is lean, the FDD is the best available map of who to call and when. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.