Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick Franchise Failure Rate
SBA 7(a) loan default data, FY2010–FY2019 · Updated 2026
Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick franchisees defaulted on 11.8% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Limited-Service Restaurants industry average of 10.3%.
- 11.8%SBA default rate, small sample2 of 17 loans
- 17loans resolvedapproved FY2010–FY2019
- 10.3%Limited-Service Restaurants averageall SBA loans in the industry
- 50th lowestindustry rankof 81 Limited-Service Restaurants brands
| SBA default rate | 11.8% (small sample) |
|---|---|
| Loans approved | 17 |
| Loans charged off | 2 |
| Date range | FY2010–FY2019 |
| Industry | Limited-Service Restaurants |
| Industry average | 10.3% |
| Data source | U.S. SBA 7(a) FOIA loan data |
Most SBA default figures published online use loans approved since 2020 — loans that have had six years or less to fail — so those rates are floors, not outcomes. Every rate on this site is computed from the matured FY2010–FY2019 cohort: loans that have been paid in full or charged off, so the result is settled. Loans approved since 2020 are shown as counts so early charge-offs are visible without being mistaken for a rate.
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026. Figures also in the comparison table below.
2 of 17 Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick SBA borrowers failed to repay — too few loans to call a rate; read it as a flag, not a verdict.
What is the Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick franchise failure rate on SBA loans?
Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick is a Limited-Service Restaurants franchise. This page reports the outcome of every SBA 7(a) loan the U.S. Small Business Administration's public FOIA file attributes to Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick franchisees: 17 loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019, of which 2 were charged off. Loan statuses are as of June 30, 2026, and the cohort has matured, so these are settled outcomes rather than projections.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY201917
- Charged off2
- Charge-off rate (small sample)11.8%
- Limited-Service Restaurants franchise benchmark10.3%
- Brand vs industry1.1x
- All-franchise SBA benchmark10.2%
- Average loan size, 2010s cohort$572,412
How does Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick compare with other Limited-Service Restaurants franchises?
The table sets Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick's charge-off rate beside its Limited-Service Restaurants peers and the two economy-wide benchmarks. All figures use the same cohort — SBA 7(a) loans approved FY2010–FY2019, statuses as of June 30, 2026 — and the same denominator of resolved loans, so they are directly comparable.
| Measure | Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick | Limited-Service Restaurants | All franchises | All SBA borrowers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Default (charge-off) rate | 11.8% (small sample) | 10.3% | 10.2% | 8.0% |
| Loans in sample | 17 | — | — | — |
| Defaults | 2 | — | — | — |
| Average loan size | $572,412 | — | — | — |
Source: U.S. SBA FOIA dataset, statuses as of June 30, 2026.
Show the numbers behind this chart
| Fiscal year | Loans | Charged off | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2014 | 9 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2015 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FY2016 | 2 | 1 | 50.0% |
| FY2017 | 4 | 1 | 25.0% |
| FY2018 | 1 | 0 | 0.0% |
How to read this
A charge-off means a franchisee borrowed, operated, and failed severely enough that the SBA wrote off the government-guaranteed loan. Unlike franchisor marketing or Item 19 disclosures, this is an observed outcome recorded by a federal agency. One caveat cuts the other way: SBA borrowers are typically less capitalized than all-cash buyers, so these rates can overstate risk for well-funded operators.
How reliable is this number?
Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick's figure rests on 17 resolved SBA 7(a) loans approved between fiscal 2010 and 2019. That cohort has matured, so the count is a settled outcome, not a projection. With 17 resolved loans, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points. Loans approved since 2020 are excluded from the rate because most are still outstanding; they appear on this page as counts only. Every Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick figure is recomputed from the public SBA FOIA file on each rebuild.
Small sample (17 loans). A single default moves this figure substantially.
Is Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick in financial trouble? What the SBA data shows
Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick's SBA 7(a) default rate was 11.8% for loans approved FY2010–FY2019 (2 of 17 loans charged off) — 50th lowest of 81 Limited-Service Restaurants brands tracked here. A default rate close to the Limited-Service Restaurants average of 10.3% is, on its own, neither a warning sign nor a reassurance. With only 17 loans in the sample, one default moves the rate by about 5.9 percentage points, so read it as a flag rather than a verdict.
Frequently asked
- What is Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick's franchise failure rate?
- Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick franchisees defaulted on 11.8% of SBA 7(a) loans between FY2010 and FY2019 — 2 of 17 loans were charged off — according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. That is higher than the Limited-Service Restaurants industry average of 10.3%.
- How does Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick compare to other Limited-Service Restaurants franchises?
- Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick's 11.8% SBA default rate is higher than the Limited-Service Restaurants industry average of 10.3%. See every Limited-Service Restaurants franchise ranked on the Limited-Service Restaurants industry page. Limited-Service Restaurants franchises →
- What does 'SBA default rate' mean?
- An SBA default rate is the share of SBA 7(a) loans, approved FY2010–FY2019 and since resolved (paid in full or charged off), that were charged off — written off after the borrower failed to repay. It is not a measure of unit closures.
Source
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) loan program charge-off data, FY2010–FY2019. Franchise data is matched on the SBA's franchise code / brand name. "Failure rate" here means the share of approved loans (resolved: paid in full or charged off) that were charged off; it is not a measure of unit closures. Last updated September 30, 2026.
Every brand in one table, with percentiles and breakdowns by year, industry and loan size: franchise SBA default rates, all 415 brands.
Cite this page
Franchise Default Rates (2026). Golden Fried Chicken/golden Chick franchise SBA 7(a) default rate, FY2010–FY2019 cohort: 11.8% (2 of 17 loans charged off). Derived from U.S. SBA FOIA data, loan statuses as of June 30, 2026.
https://franchisefailurerates.com/franchise/golden-fried-chicken-golden-chick/ · Data & methodology · Download the dataset (CSV)