From the filings

+22.33% units YoYHQ-led decisions

Simply Southern Restaurant Group

Quick service restaurant

Simply Southern Restaurant Group's franchise agreement requires franchisees to purchase the point-of-sale hardware and software the franchisor specifies for its Chicken Salad Chick restaurants, along with an on-site maintenance agreement. The system spans 326 units — 252 franchised and 74 company-owned — with an Item 19 average of $1,496,540 among the reporting cohort. Franchised outlets grew 22.33% year over year.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
326
252 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+22.33%
vs prior filing
AUV
$1.50M
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$802K–$1.03M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Franchisor controlled
from the filing
Non-compete
1 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing

Ongoing fee load

What the operator pays every month

The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.

7%of gross sales (FY2026)

Ongoing fees: 7% of gross sales (FY2026)Royalty 5%, Ad fund 2%. Total 7% of gross sales. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 5%Ad fund 2%

Mandated & recommended tech

The systems vendors compete with

Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.

Chicken Salad Chick University
Proprietary systemItem 11

modules available on Chicken Salad Chick University

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

22 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 1 explicit no; 11 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.

Accounting

Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?

Yes

Item 11

We will have independent, unlimited access to all transaction details for sales, financial marketing, management, and other business information maintained on your computer system.

How the franchisor buys

Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?

Yes

Item 8

The only products/services for which we or our affiliates currently are designated or approved suppliers are the grand opening marketing services provided by CSC Affiliate for which you pay a lump sum amount when you sign the Franchise Agreement.

Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?

Yes

Item 11

We currently have a marketing advisory committee made up of 5 franchisees that advises us on advertising and marketing matters for our system.

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

In 2022, CSC Affiliate received a total of $1,060,048 from our approved suppliers on account of purchases made by both franchised and affiliate-owned Restaurants.

Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?

Yes

Item 6

Fees to evaluate Currently, out of Upon receipt We have the right to impose alternative pocket expenses of our invoice reasonable inspection and testing suppliers only fees to cover any costs in evaluating alternative approved products or suppliers you suggest.

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

Except as noted above, you have the right to purchase required products and services from outside suppliers and distributors if such products and services conform in quality to our standards and specifications and we determine that the supplier’s or distributor’s business reputation, quality standards, delivery…

Communications

Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?

Yes

Item 17

and assign telephone numbers.

Data and IT

Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

independently determining what is required for you to comply (and then complying) at all times with the most current version of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards

Franchise management

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Item 9

Inspections and Articles VI.D, VII.O, VIII, and XIII of the Item 6 audits Franchise Agreement t.

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Item 8

We have the right to modify our written standards and specifications and you must comply with any modifications.

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 11

You may not construct, develop, and operate the Restaurant at a site that we have not formally accepted.

Marketing

Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?

Yes

Item 8

CSC Affiliate has the sole right to determine how this grand opening money is spent for your Restaurant.

Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?

Yes

Item 11

You must conduct local advertising in the form, content, and media we approve and spend a minimum of 1% of your monthly Gross Sales.

Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?

Yes

Item 8

You must participate in, and comply with the requirements of, our gift/loyalty/stored-value card and other customer loyalty programs.

Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?

Yes

Item 11

You must participate in such advertising cooperative and its programs (other than price advertising in which you may choose not to participate if we have not unilaterally chosen to regulate your prices to the extent permitted by law) and abide by its bylaws.

Operations

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

We currently require you to purchase the following products and services only from designated (i.e., specific) suppliers: kitchen and restaurant equipment along with small wares;

Payments

Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?

Yes

Item 6

You must authorize us to debit your bank account automatically for the amounts due under the Franchise Agreement or otherwise.

People

Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?

Yes

Item 15

The Restaurant must have a dedicated General Manager and/or Manager at the Restaurant every day (if the Operating Partner will not operate the Restaurant on-site each day).

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You must purchase from suppliers and distributors we approve in writing those foods, food items, beverages, recipe ingredients, goods, products, supplies, sundries, uniforms, machinery, signs, furniture, fixtures, equipment, and services that we determine must meet minimum standards of quality and uniformity in order…

Point of sale

Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

You must purchase or lease the computer/technology hardware and peripherals we require that will serve as your point-of-sale transaction and technology systems

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

We will have independent, unlimited access to all transaction details for sales, financial marketing, management, and other business information maintained on your computer system.

Training

Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?

Yes

Item 11

You, your Operating Partner, your manager or 1 of your key employees must also attend our conferences, whether conducted annually or otherwise, at no charge to you.

The filing answers no to 1 question
  • Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?Item 11

Who buys here

The buyer at this brand

The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.

Sales LeaderRegional 100 499

HQ leadership: CEO/President + VP Ops/Franchise + a first dedicated IT/systems owner.

VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
  1. 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
  2. 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
  3. Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.

The vendor opportunity at Simply Southern Restaurant Group

Simply Southern Restaurant Group's system spans 326 units in the fast-casual restaurant segment — 252 franchised and 74 company-owned — under its Chicken Salad Chick brand. Item 19 of the FDD includes a financial performance representation, with a reporting cohort averaging $1,496,540. Franchised outlets grew 22.33% year over year.

Who controls software purchasing

The franchisor establishes standards for the telecommunications equipment, computer and technology hardware, peripherals, and software each restaurant must use, and requires franchisees to purchase or lease the point-of-sale transaction and technology hardware it specifies, along with an on-site maintenance agreement and certain required computer software and operating systems.

Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required

The FDD names Chicken Salad Chick University in Item 11. The core technology mandate — point-of-sale hardware, an on-site maintenance agreement, and required software and operating systems — runs through the franchisor's own specification rather than a single named third-party platform. Franchisees must also participate in the brand's gift/loyalty/stored-value card and other customer loyalty programs.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 runs a designated-suppliers-only model: franchisees must buy kitchen and restaurant equipment and small wares only from designated suppliers, and other required products from franchisor-approved suppliers, with almost 100% of total purchases running through designated or approved sources. Cake and dessert products route through affiliate SSRG Cake via a third-party distributor, and grand-opening marketing services route through affiliate CSC Affiliate, which received $1,409,553 from approved suppliers in 2025. The initial term is 10 years, with three 10-year renewals available; renewal requires a complete remodel, updated IT equipment and software, and a renewal fee.

How to read the Simply Southern Restaurant Group FDD

The embedded viewer below carries the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, including the Item 8 and Item 11 language summarized above.

Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of franchise systems like Simply Southern Restaurant Group where the technology mandate and procurement structure line up with your product.

Questions vendors ask

Simply Southern Restaurant Group, answered from the filing

The franchisor sets the telecommunications, computer, and point-of-sale technology standards each Chicken Salad Chick restaurant must use, and requires an on-site maintenance agreement for that system — a corporate-level mandate vendors should approach directly.
The franchisor requires point-of-sale transaction and technology hardware, an on-site maintenance agreement, and certain computer software and operating systems it specifies. The FDD also names Chicken Salad Chick University in Item 11.
326 total units — 252 franchised and 74 company-owned — in the fast-casual restaurant segment, with franchised outlets up 22.33% year over year.
Item 8 runs a designated-suppliers-only model: franchisees must buy specified products, including kitchen equipment and small wares, from designated suppliers, and nearly 100% of purchases come from designated or approved sources.
Renewal requires a complete renovation and remodeling of the premises and updating all information technology equipment, software, services, and systems — a defined point to pitch new technology, on a 10-year term with three 10-year renewal options.
The embedded PDF viewer below carries the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document.
Source

Read the filing itself

Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.

Simply Southern Restaurant Group2026 FDDView only

Loading filing…

View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.

FDD alert

Tell me when this brand refiles.

We’ll email you the moment Simply Southern Restaurant Group files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.

The brands you can actually sell into, from the filings.

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

18 operators run 18 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit18

Top states by locations

TX4
MO3
GA3
LA2
SC2

Ownership

The portfolio behind Simply Southern Restaurant Group

strategic_multibrand of Simply Southern Restaurant Group.

Related Quick service restaurant brands

Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.