Chester's
Food & Beverage · Quick-Service Restaurants
- Active units
- 1,002
Franchised, year-end 2023
About Chester's
Chester's Hamburgers is a beloved San Antonio brand that has been serving delicious old-fashioned hamburgers for nearly four decades. With a commitment to using the freshest ingredients, Chester's offers a menu filled with mouthwatering burgers that are always cooked to order. Their signature burgers are made from one-third of a pound of fresh, never frozen meat, ensuring a juicy and satisfying bite every time. What sets Chester's apart is their attention to detail. The 5 poppy seed buns are baked from scratch daily, and their French fries are freshly cut twice a day. They even had green chili before it became popular, sourcing it all the way from New Mexico when it wasn't readily available in town. Additionally, Chester's boasts an extensive selection of over a hundred different beers, making it a paradise for beer lovers. For those looking for something different, Chester's also offers salads, buffalo wings, real ice cream shakes, and malts. With four convenient locations in San Antonio, including IH-10 & Wurzbach, 281 North at Thousand Oaks, NE Loop 410 near Broadway, and Universal City near Randolph AFB, Chester's Hamburgers invites you to experience their delectable offerings firsthand.
Key terms
- Footprint
500 – 1,200 sq ft
Brand Percentile Rankings
Rankings compare brands in the same operating year. Fee and investment figures come from the FDD (2026 filing); filings on file: 2024, 2025, 2026.
Growth
- Total locations918
Franchised units open at year-end
- New openings120
Gross new units opened during the calendar year
- 1-year unit growth rate-7.6%
Net unit growth versus prior year
- 3-year unit CAGR-4.3%
Compound annual growth rate of unit count over the trailing 3 years
- Unit growth ratio0.6×
Cumulative opens / closures through year-end
Unit economics
- Annual unit volume (Median)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (25th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- Annual unit volume (75th percentile)—
Per FDD Item 19 disclosure
- 1-year Median AUV growth rate—
Year-over-year change in median AUV
- Store-level EBITDA Margin—
Median unit-level EBITDA / AUV
Investment profile
- Estimated initial investment$161k
Midpoint of estimated initial investment range
↓ Lower is better - Time to open—
Midpoint of average time from agreement to opening
- Royalty rate—
Percent of net sales paid to the franchisor
- Sales-to-investment ratio—
Median AUV / estimated initial investment midpoint
- Cash-on-cash returns—
Median unit-level EBITDA / estimated initial investment midpoint. Steady-state estimate; year 1 returns will be lower as the unit ramps to median volumes.
Franchisee healthLocked
- Unit closure ratio
- Transfer vs. closure ratio
- Percent multi-unit franchisees
- Litigation rate
- EBITDA multiple on sales & transfers
Create your free Glidepath account to access full brand information.
Sources
Financial and operating figures are sourced from the brand's Franchise Disclosure Documents. Brand percentile rankings are based on comparisons to other brands that include the same metrics in their Franchise Disclosure Documents.