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NNN Chick-Fil-A for Sale
Chick-fil-A is privately held and not rated by S&P, so the case for a Chick-fil-A property rests on the restaurant’s sales and the lease rather than a public credit rating. The chain had 3,287 U.S. restaurants and about $23.9 billion in U.S. system sales in 2025 (Restaurant Business). Market reports describe its leases as ground leases or NNN with a typical 15-year term and 10% rent increases every five years. This page covers what the data says about cap rates, rent and risk.
Not rated
S&P credit rating
3,287
U.S. restaurants
15 Years
Typical lease term
10%
Increase every 5 years
4,200–4,819 SF
Typical building size
Ground / NNN
Typical lease type
Sources: The Boulder Group, Net Lease Tenant Profiles, September 2026 (not rated, ground lease, 4,200 SF); Matthews, 2026 Net Lease Tenant Report (NNN, ±4,819 SF); Restaurant Business, citing Chick-fil-A’s franchise disclosure document (U.S. restaurants at the end of 2025). Boulder lists 3,389 locations and Matthews about 3,100. The two reports differ on lease type.
Key Takeaways
Private, Unrated Tenant
Chick-fil-A is privately held and not rated by S&P, according to both reports. Without a public rating or earnings report, the lease and the restaurant’s sales carry more of the weight in your due diligence.
Lease Structure to Confirm
Boulder lists a typical ground lease and Matthews lists NNN, both with a 15-year term and 10% rent increases every five years. Confirm who owns the building and who handles roof and structure.
Priced for Low Yields
Chick-fil-A properties currently show asking cap rates of 4.55% – 4.85% with 10 years remaining and 4.15% – 4.45% for a new 15-year lease (The Boulder Group, September 2026). Matthews reports closed sales averaging 4.21% in the first half of 2025 and 4.37% in the second.
High Sales, Flat Unit Volumes
The average standalone Chick-fil-A sold just under $9.2 million in 2025, down 1.7% from 2024, while the chain added a net 178 U.S. restaurants (Restaurant Business, citing its franchise disclosure document).
Chick-fil-A NNN Cap Rates and Lease Data
If you’re weighing a Chick-fil-A property, three things shape what you’ll earn: who the tenant is, how the lease is structured, and what yield you’re paying for. Here’s how they fit together.
On the tenant side, there is no credit rating to lean on. Both reports list Chick-fil-A as privately held and not rated.1 The lease side looks consistent: a typical 15-year term with a 10% rent increase every five years, which works out to roughly 2% a year. Boulder lists a ground lease and Matthews lists NNN, so confirm who owns the building and who handles roof and structure.
That’s where cap rates come in. Boulder shows asking cap rates of 4.15% – 4.45% on a new 15-year lease and 4.55% – 4.85% with 10 years left. It does not publish a range for 5 years left.2 Even so, the usual pattern holds: as the remaining term gets shorter, the yield goes up, because you’re being paid more to take on the question of whether the lease renews.
Closed sales sit close to those asking ranges. Matthews reports 15 sales in the first half of 2025 at an average cap rate of 4.21% and 14 in the second half at 4.37%, each with about 15 years of lease remaining. The 44 properties on the market when the report was written averaged a 4.27% asking cap rate with 14 years remaining, in a range from 3.72% to 5.00%.3
In dollars, the two reports differ, a reminder that these are averages of different samples. Boulder puts the average sale price at about $4.1 million with average rent of about $160,000 a year, which works out to roughly $976 per square foot in price and $38 in annual rent on a typical 4,200 SF building. Matthews shows average rent of about $228,816 and on-market listings averaging about $5.3 million, or roughly $1,110 per square foot on its typical 4,819 SF building.4
1. The Boulder Group, Net Lease Tenant Profiles, September 2026, p. 22 (not rated, ground lease, 15-year term, 10% every 5 years); Matthews, 2026 Net Lease Tenant Report, p. 30 (credit rating N/A, NNN, 15-year term, 10% every 5 years). The roughly 2% a year figure is our calculation (10% over five years compounds to about 1.9% a year). ↩
2. The Boulder Group, Net Lease Tenant Profiles, September 2026, p. 22. Asking cap rates as of September 2026; Boulder lists the 5-year range as N/A. ↩
3. Matthews, 2026 Net Lease Tenant Report, p. 30. Transaction figures are averages of closed sales (15 in the first half of 2025, 14 in the second half, and 3 year to date in 2026 as of the report, averaging 4.25%); on-market data covers 44 properties listed at the time of the report. Matthews figures are averages of closed sales and listings, while Boulder’s are asking ranges, so the two measure different things. ↩
4. The Boulder Group, Net Lease Tenant Profiles, September 2026, p. 22, and Matthews, 2026 Net Lease Tenant Report, p. 30. Average sale price, average rent and typical building size are as reported; the per-square-foot figures are our calculations (Boulder: $4.1 million and $160,000 over 4,200 SF; Matthews: $5,349,866 average on-market price over 4,819 SF). The two reports’ averages cover different samples and are not directly comparable. ↩
Chick-fil-A as a Tenant
How Chick-fil-A operates
Chick-fil-A is a privately held restaurant company based in Atlanta, Georgia (Matthews, 2026 Net Lease Tenant Report). According to its franchise disclosure document, it had 3,287 U.S. restaurants at the end of 2025: 2,863 company-operated or franchised locations and 424 licensed units (Restaurant Business).
For an investor, the point is what you are actually buying: the real estate under a single restaurant. Boulder lists a typical building of 4,200 SF and Matthews about 4,819 SF, on 15-year initial terms with 10% rent increases every five years. Boulder lists the typical lease as a ground lease and Matthews as NNN, so read the lease to see who owns the building.
Financial strength and growth
Chick-fil-A is privately held, so there is no S&P rating or public earnings report to review. The best public data is its franchise disclosure document: U.S. system sales rose 5.2% to $23.9 billion in 2025, and the average standalone restaurant sold just under $9.2 million, down 1.7% from 2024 (Restaurant Business).
It is still growing. Chick-fil-A added a net 178 U.S. restaurants in 2025, opening 36 in Texas, 25 in Florida, 23 in California and 22 in Georgia (Restaurant Business).
It is also one of the largest restaurant chains in the country by sales. QSR Magazine ranks Chick-fil-A third among U.S. quick-service chains by 2025 system sales, behind McDonald’s and Starbucks (QSR 50, 2026), though QSR notes that its Chick-fil-A figure is an estimate.
Why Investors Buy Chick-fil-A Properties
Chick-fil-A properties trade at low yields because buyers are paying for strong sales rather than a credit rating. With 15 years remaining, Boulder’s September 2026 asking range of 4.15% – 4.45% is below McDonald’s (4.35% – 4.65%), 7-Eleven (4.80% – 5.15%) and Wawa (4.90% – 5.20%).
With 10 years remaining, Chick-fil-A’s 4.55% – 4.85% compares with 4.50% – 4.80% for McDonald’s, which S&P rates BBB+, and 5.30% – 5.60% for Raising Cane’s, which Boulder lists as BB-. So an unrated private tenant is priced in line with a rated public one, which suggests buyers are weighing sales and brand heavily.
The leases follow a familiar pattern: 15-year terms with 10% rent increases every five years, the same schedule Boulder lists for McDonald’s and Raising Cane’s, both ground leases. The trade-off for the low yield is less income today, so the price you pay matters more than usual.
Risks and Market Conditions
The main risk is the price you pay. At cap rates in the mid-4% range, small changes in rent, remaining term or interest rates move value, and there is no credit rating to fall back on. Matthews’ 44 on-market properties ranged from 3.72% to 5.00%, so what you pay depends a lot on the specific site.
Sales are the other thing to watch. The average standalone Chick-fil-A sold just under $9.2 million in 2025, down 1.7% from 2024, and Restaurant Business reports that average unit volumes at standalone restaurants appear to have hit a ceiling while the chain kept adding locations. Restaurant sales support the tenant’s ability to keep paying rent, so ask for sales history on any site you consider, and confirm who owns the building and handles roof and structure, since the reports describe the lease type differently.
Build a Diversified NNN Portfolio
Pairing a Chick-fil-A with other net-lease brands spreads risk across tenants, industries and markets. Compare other brands we help buyers acquire:
Chick-fil-A NNN FAQs
What cap rates do Chick-fil-A NNN properties trade at?
Asking cap rates currently run 4.55% – 4.85% with 10 years remaining and 4.15% – 4.45% for a new 15-year lease; Boulder does not list a range for 5 years remaining (The Boulder Group, September 2026). Matthews reports closed sales averaging 4.21% in the first half of 2025 and 4.37% in the second. Actual cap rates vary by location, remaining lease term, guarantor and rent history. Talk to our team about current opportunities.
How are Chick-fil-A leases structured?
Boulder lists a typical ground lease and Matthews lists NNN. Both report a 15-year term with 10% rent increases every five years. Because the reports differ, confirm in the lease who owns the building and who handles roof and structure.
Can I use a Chick-fil-A NNN property in a 1031 exchange?
Single-tenant net lease properties are commonly used as replacement property in a Section 1031 exchange, and a Chick-fil-A property can be one option. Whether a particular property works depends on your situation, so check with your tax advisor and a qualified intermediary.
Questions about NNN Chick-fil-A Properties for Sale?
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Market data, cap rates, and tenant statistics on this page come from third-party reports and company disclosures, cited in the footnotes. We believe these sources are reliable but do not guarantee their accuracy or completeness. Figures reflect the date of each source and change with market conditions, so verify current numbers before relying on them.