The numbers
As stated by the listing on September 26, 2026.
- Asking price
- $995,000
- SDE
- $260,000
- Gross revenue
- $2,600,000
- Multiple
- 3.83x
- Established
- 2020
Why we like it
A fried chicken sandwich only becomes hot chicken once it is dipped in a cayenne-and-lard paste after the fryer, and the trick of the format is that the same bird can be sold five different ways just by changing how much of that paste goes on, from plain to a level that makes a customer sign a waiver. That spice ladder is a built-in reason to come back and to post about it, which is part of why the category has traveled so far from its Nashville origin and why shops built around it lean hard on delivery apps to reach customers who will not drive across town for dine-in but will order on a Thursday night from the couch. This Dallas County shop has been running that formula since 2020, long enough to have a real local following rather than a novelty opening rush, on a stated $2.6 million in revenue. Start with the channel mix, because a hot chicken concept built around third-party delivery is paying a platform a real cut of every order in that mix, and that toll comes straight out of food cost and labor that already run tight in fried chicken. The real estate is included in this deal, which removes the lease renewal risk that sinks a lot of restaurant sales, but it also means the growth story here is less about opening a second location off this note and more about whether the existing kitchen and dining room still have room to push more volume through one fryer line.
You probably need a licence to run this
Texas requires a Certified Food Manager on staff at any food service establishment, but that certification can be held by a hired manager or employee rather than the buyer personally, so it is not a personal-license gate the way a contractor or real estate license would be. If the concept pours beer or wine, a TABC permit is also required and is typically tied to the business and location, which the broker should confirm along with whether it transfers on sale or needs to be reapplied for.
What worries us
- Owner dependence on recipe and kitchen knowledgeA hot chicken concept lives or dies on the fry and spice process being consistent, and if that knowledge sits mainly with the current owner rather than a trained kitchen team, output quality can slip fast during a transition.
- Delivery platform reliance for revenue growthIf a meaningful share of the stated $2.6 million comes through third-party delivery apps, that revenue depends on the business staying visible and well-rated on platforms it does not control, and commission fees eat into the margin the SDE is calculated from.
- Seller-reported financials, not auditedThe $260,000 SDE and $2.6 million revenue are the seller's own figures. The 1.32x debt service coverage we calculated on a $120,000 owner salary leaves a workable but not large cushion if actual cash flow comes in softer than claimed.
The callFits a buyer who wants to run a kitchen day to day and likes owning the real estate, not a passive investor hoping the current systems run themselves.
Our calculations
Our standard SBA 7(a) acquisition structure applied to the asking price. Assumptions below.
Sources
| SBA 7(a) loan | $944,683 |
| Seller standby note | $52,483 |
| Buyer cash at close | $52,482 |
| Total sources | $1,049,648 |
Uses
| Purchase price | $995,000 |
| Closing costs (est.) | $29,850 |
| SBA guaranty fee | $24,798 |
| Total project | $1,049,648 |
- Monthly payment
- $8,090
- Annual debt service
- $97,081
- DSCR
- 1.29xBANKABLE
- Injection check
- Meets 10% ($104,965 against $104,965 required)
- Closing costs estimated at 3% of asking price
- Owner salary of $120,000, loaded
- Rate of Prime + 2.25% = 9.25%
- 25-year term, fully amortizing
- Injection split half cash, half seller standby note
How we would go about buying it
The order matters. Every step below is free until the last one, and each is a chance to walk away before it costs you anything.
- 1
Call the broker, not the bank
The listing is brokered, so the broker is the gate. Ask for the CIM and the last three years of tax returns, and expect to sign an NDA first. Do this before you talk to a lender: no lender will size a loan without the numbers, and the broker will not release them to a lender you have not engaged.
Open the listing - 2
Ask these before you spend anything
Specific to this business, from our read of the listing. The answers decide whether the numbers above survive contact.
- What share of revenue is dine-in versus third-party delivery (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub), and what commission rate is the business paying on those orders?
- Is there a Certified Food Manager on staff other than the owner, and will that person or the kitchen management team stay on after closing?
- Does the location hold a TABC permit for beer or wine, and if so, does it transfer with the sale or does a buyer need to file a new application?
- What is the age and service history of the fryer line, hood system, and walk-in coolers, and is any of it near end of life?
- Is the hot chicken spice blend and breading recipe written down and used by kitchen staff day to day, or does it live in the owner's head?
- 3
Take it to lenders who do this size
Talk to more than one. Rate is the least of it: the lender who has done fifty of these in Texas will close, and the one who has done two will waste your quarter. Below are the lenders whose typical deal size actually fits this one.
- 4
Structure the offer around the coverage
Our structure clears the floor at 1.29x, and a lender will run its own version with its own add-backs. If the earnings come back lower than stated, the price has to come down or the seller note has to grow. Model both before you make an offer.
Model it yourself
Who we would call
Active Texas acquisition lenders whose typical deal size fits this one.
- Huntington National Bank
142 loans in TXmedian $422,000median rate 9.25%~32 days to first disbursement
- Live Oak Banking Company
133 loans in TXmedian $825,000median rate 9.00%~20 days to first disbursement
- First Internet Bank of Indiana
45 loans in TXmedian $980,000median rate 9.75%~23 days to first disbursement
Loan counts and medians are that lender’s change-of-ownership loans in Texas, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3. Funding speed is the lender’s national median from approval to first disbursement. Names link to our data profile for each lender.
The fine print
The statements this write-up makes about the trade and its rules, as opposed to the figures, were checked against public sources on September 24, 2026. 4 claims were checked.
Run your own numbers
The deal analyzer models price, seller note, equity injection, and DSCR under current SBA terms, with every assumption adjustable.
Open the deal analyzerListing facts as stated by the listing on September 26, 2026, not independently verified. Structure, payment, DSCR, and injection figures are our own computation under the assumptions above, using the Prime rate as of September 28, 2026. Lender shortlist from the SBA 7(a) FOIA file, FY2025 to FY2026 Q3, as of June 30, 2026. Methodology. See an error? Email us and we will correct it.