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FRANCHISE RESALES

Buy a Guthrie’s Franchise

Guthrie’s is a quick-service restaurant chain built entirely around chicken fingers, founded in 1965 by Hal Guthrie as a drive-in in Haleyville, Alabama. The family narrowed the menu to its marinated, golden-fried chicken tenderloins in the early 1980s, and in 1982 became the first restaurant to build an entire menu around chicken fingers, the basis of its “America’s Original Chicken Finger Concept” positioning.

The streamlined menu centers on hand-breaded chicken fingers, a proprietary signature sauce, fries, coleslaw and Texas toast, served across lunch, dinner, takeout and catering. Guthrie’s operates roughly 80 restaurants, concentrated in the Southeast but expanding into the Carolinas and newer markets including Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Ohio and West Virginia. Recent units use a smaller prototype near 2,000 square feet with drive-thru and digital ordering.

Still closely tied to the founding Guthrie family, who remain involved and invested, the brand has broadened its leadership for national growth under new president and CEO Tom Carr, formerly CMO at Chicken Salad Chick. Guthrie’s began franchising around 2004.

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Why buy a Guthrie’s Franchise?

Buying a Guthrie’s franchise offers entry into the fast-growing chicken-tender category through the concept widely credited with creating it. The brand carries six decades of heritage and a famously loyal fan base, and its influence on the segment is well documented: the founder of Raising Cane’s and a cofounder of Zaxby’s both worked at Guthrie’s before launching their own tender concepts.

The focused menu keeps operations relatively simple, and a refined smaller-footprint prototype with drive-thru and digital ordering is built for speed and throughput. Multiple day-parts plus takeout and catering give owners several ways to build sales, and renewed franchising momentum under experienced new leadership adds development support in a resilient, growing category.

Guthrie’s Franchise Costs & Information

  • Minimum Qualifications

    • Initial Franchise Fee

      $35,000 per restaurant

    • Initial Investment

      $231,050 – $569,200

    • Cash Requirement

      $75,000 minimum

  • Royalty

    • Royalty Fee

      5%

      of gross sales

  • Training & Support

    • Ongoing support

    • Marketing support

Guthrie’s – Additional  Information

  1. Training & Support

    Franchisees complete the Guthrie's Franchisee Training Program, which covers operations, financials, marketing and the day-to-day running of a store, with the franchisor's training team on site to support new restaurants. Owners receive ongoing operations, development and marketing support, including brand marketing materials, and work to the proprietary chicken preparation and signature-sauce standards that define the concept. Resale buyers should confirm with Guthrie's what onboarding and Franchisee Training Program access is provided to incoming owners, and which operating systems transfer with the unit.

  2. Ideal Owner

    Guthrie's suits hands-on owner-operators rather than passive investors. The model rewards people comfortable managing kitchen and counter teams, holding labor costs and service standards in line, and keeping the proprietary chicken preparation consistent enough to drive repeat visits. Strong local marketing instincts and a community-minded approach help build the loyal family-and-catering customer base the brand depends on. Prior restaurant or quick-service experience is an advantage, particularly for owners planning to grow within an expanding territory.

  3. Recognition & Awards

    Guthrie's recognition rests less on formal franchise rankings than on its standing as the originator of the chicken-finger restaurant, a heritage stretching back to 1965 and a customer base known for strong loyalty. The brand's influence on the category is widely cited, with the founder of Raising Cane's and a cofounder of Zaxby's having worked at Guthrie's before building their own tender concepts. For resale buyers, brand-level reputation should be weighed alongside the specific territory's local reviews, repeat customers and community visibility.

  4. Industry / Market

    US quick-service chicken restaurants generate an estimated $60-65 billion in annual sales, roughly a tenth of total fast-food revenue, and fried chicken ranked as the most popular fast-food subsector by traffic in 2025. Chicken tenders specifically have become one of the category's fastest-growing formats, with broad appeal across younger diners, families and group and catering occasions. The segment is competitive but has proved resilient across economic cycles, making local site quality, throughput and reputation central to an individual unit's performance for resale buyers.

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