Start a Gold Star Franchise in 2025

Franchise 500 Rank: N/R Not ranked last year

Initial investment: $499K - $1M

Units as of 2021: 70 7% over 3 years

Gold Star Chili is a family-owned business founded in 1965 by four brothers and their extended family who immigrated from Jordan to Cincinnati, Ohio. The brothers started Gold Star Chili with the hope of capturing the American dream of owning their own business. With over 60 franchises located throughout the United States and more opportunities to grow, the founders and their descendants may still be involved in running and working for the company.

Gold Star Chili excels by offering unique, delicious food and quick, friendly service. Not only do they serve their famous chili, but they have since evolved to include culinary burgers and salads on their menu to cater to all of their guests. A streamlined menu, tableside service, and franchise support make Gold Star Chili a community favorite.

Why You May Want to Start a Gold Star Chili Franchise

An ideal Gold Star Chili franchisee is someone who is enthusiastic, passionate, and driven. No previous restaurant experience is required, and the Gold Star Chili team provides in-store and classroom training to all franchisees. During the opening days and beyond, additional support is given, follow-up visits for the first, second, and third months of your opening days to make sure things are running smoothly. They may also answer any questions or concerns that arise with services from a calibration specialist.

Gold Star Chili is a solid mix of quick-casual, full-service, and drive-thru options to accommodate customers who would like to eat in or eat on the go. Because of this, a Gold Star Chili location may best function in an area with both residential and commercial properties that has high traffic and accessible entrance and exit points.

The Gold Star Chili team can help you find the optimal location for your franchise using demographic research. They also inform franchisees of future marketing efforts after opening day. The analytics team focuses on traffic data, social media usage, and geo-fencing to ensure your location is represented and recognized as part of the Gold Star Chili family.

What Might Make a Gold Star Chili Franchise a Good Choice?

Because of Gold Star Chili's good reputation and long existence in its market, becoming a franchisee may offer a more predictable outcome than investing in a completely new brand that may struggle to thrive in an already crowded and competitive industry.

To be part of the Gold Star Chili team, you should make sure you're financially ready for an initial investment made up of a franchise fee and other startup costs. In addition, you should prepare yourself for ongoing fees that will include advertising, royalty, and potential renewal fees. Franchisees will also need to meet the company's set net worth and liquid capital requirements.

How To Open a Gold Star Chili Franchise

As you decide if opening a Gold Star Chili franchise is the right move for you, make sure you take time to explore the opportunity. Research the brand and your local area to see if a Gold Star Chili franchise would do well in your community. While competition is healthy, too much of it may not allow for the most possible growth.

Before making any financial commitment or signing an agreement, you must perform your due diligence and establish if this is the right opportunity for you. As part of your due diligence, you may want to speak to existing franchisees and ask the Gold Star Chili franchising team questions.

Company Overview

About Gold Star

Industry	Food
Related Categories	Miscellaneous Quick-Service Restaurants
Founded	1965
Parent Company	GSR Brands
Leadership	Samir Daoud, Franchise Director
Corporate Address	650 Lunken Park Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45226
Social	Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

Business Overview

Franchising Since	1966 (59 years)
# of employees at HQ	24
Where seeking	This company is offering new franchises throughout the US.
# of Units	70 (as of 2021)

Information for Franchisees

Here's what you need to know if you're interested in opening a Gold Star franchise.

Financial Requirements & Ongoing Fees

Here's what you can expect to spend to start the business and what ongoing fees the franchisor charges throughout the life of the business.

Initial Franchise Fee Definition: The initial fee paid to a franchisor to join their system What you need to know: Found in Item 5 of the FDD, this may be a flat fee, or may vary based on territory size, experience, or other factors.The franchise fee is an up-front (one-time) cost that a new franchisee pays to the franchisor. This fee is usually due at the signing of the franchise agreement and covers the right to use the franchisor's trademarks, name, and related business systems.	$15,000 - $30,000
Initial Investment Definition: The total amount necessary to begin operation of the franchise What you need to know: The initial investment includes the franchise fee, along with other startup expenses such as real estate, equipment, supplies, business licenses, and working capital. This is outlined in a chart in Item 7 of the FDD, showing a range of possible costs from low to high.	$498,500 - $1,006,000
Net Worth Requirement Definition: The minimum net worth you must have in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company What you need to know: Net worth is the value of a person's assets minus liabilities. Assets include cash, stocks, retirement accounts, and real estate. Liabilities include items like mortgages, car payments, and credit card debt.	$500,000 - $750,000
Cash Requirement Definition: The minimum liquid capital you must have available in order to qualify to become a franchisee of this company.	$150,000 - $200,000
Royalty Fee Definition: A ongoing fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis. What you need to know: Most franchisors require franchisees to pay an ongoing royalty fee, which is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD. This fee is typically a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales, but may also be a flat weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	5%
Ad Royalty Fee Definition: An going fee paid to the franchisor on a regular basis to support advertising or marketing efforts. What you need to know: This may also be called advertising fee, marketing fee, brand fund fee, and more, but the basic purpose is the same-- to support promotion of the brand systemwide. As with the royalty fee, it is detailed in Item 6 of the FDD, and can be a percentage of weekly or monthly gross sales or a weekly, monthly, or annual fee.	4%
Term of Agreement Definition: The length of time your franchise agreement will last. What you need to know: Franchise terms are typically anywhere from 5 to 20 years in length, but are sometimes instead dependent on factors such as the term of your lease. Once your term is up, you may have the option to renew your agreement, typically for a smaller fee than the original franchise fee.	10 years
Is franchise term renewable?	Yes

Financing Options

Some franchisors offer in-house financing, while others have relationships with third-party financing sources to which they refer qualified franchisees.

Third Party Financing	Gold Star has relationships with third-party sources which offer financing to cover the following: startup costs, equipment, inventory, payroll

Training & Support Offered

Franchisors offer initial training programs and a variety of ongoing support options to help franchisees run their businesses.

On-The-Job Training	82 hours
Classroom Training	62 hours
Ongoing Support	Purchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings & Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security & Safety Procedures Lease Negotiation Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform
Marketing Support	Co-op Advertising Ad Templates Regional Advertising Social Media SEO Website Development Email Marketing Loyalty Program/App

Operations

Additional details about running this franchise.

Is absentee ownership allowed?	No
Can this franchise be run from home/mobile unit? Definition: The business can be run from your home and/or a vehicle, and it is not necessary to have a retail facility, office space, or warehouse.	No
Can this franchise be run part time? Definition: This business can be run by the owner on a part-time basis (less than 40 hours per week) and/or as a side business; it is not necessary for the business to be open/run full-time.	No
Are exclusive territories available? Definition: An exclusive territory is a fixed area in which you are given the right to operate and in which no other units of the same franchise may be opened. What you need to know: Territory size may be based on factors such as radius, population size, zip codes, and more. Details can be found in Item 12 of the FDD.	Yes