Franchise funding
For operators of a Texas-born tenders, roast chicken and catfish menu: equipment, food costs and crews, read from the store account.
✓ Merchant Fund Express starts with a soft credit pull. Terms depend on your location's revenue and history.
Updated October 21, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
Merchant Fund Express funds existing Golden Chick owners with business loans, merchant cash advances, revenue-based financing, lines of credit, equipment financing and working capital, from $25,000 to $5,000,000. Tenders, roast chicken and catfish mean fryers, ovens and fresh protein orders every week, so we read store deposits after those drafts and the franchisor's fees. Decisions come the same day on a complete file, and funding often follows one business day later.
Owners of open Golden Chick stores: freestanding ground-up builds, conversions of other restaurant buildings and end-caps, serving dine-in, drive-thru, take-out and third-party delivery. The franchisor calls itself the originator of Golden Tenders, made with proprietary marination mixes and batters, and also serves hand-rubbed roast chicken and Southern-style catfish. Several cooking methods in one kitchen mean more equipment per store than a single-fryer concept.
Read it with the chicken and wings franchise funding guide and our restaurant industry page.
Checked Oct 2026 against official sources: the franchisor's own franchising site, its FDD or SEC filings, or the SBA Franchise Directory. Figures change; confirm current numbers in the latest Franchise Disclosure Document. Figures we could not confirm from an official source are left out.
Already running a Golden Chick location and need capital? Merchant Fund Express funds existing franchise owners with every product below. Terms depend on the business's revenue and history.
Fried tenders and catfish share space with roast chicken ovens. When either line goes down, part of the menu stops. Equipment financing on a quote replaces it; see equipment repair funding.
Chicken and catfish prices shift, and tenders are prepped ahead. A line of credit keeps orders full; see restaurant inventory funding.
Many stores are conversions or end-caps that need finish-out work. A term loan spreads the contractor bid over a set period.
| Need | Product | Published requirement it leans on | What to send |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fryer or roasting oven replacement | Equipment financing | Vendor quote and useful life | Quote, 3 months of statements |
| Chicken and catfish orders | Line of credit | Tier 1: 3+ years, FICO 650+, 8+ deposits a month | Statements, distributor invoices |
| Payroll in a slow stretch | Working capital | Tier 2: 6+ months, FICO 600+, $60K verifiable revenue | Statements, payroll register |
| Conversion finish-out or remodel | Business loan | Tier 1, applicant owns at least 50% | Contractor bid, statements |
| Owner adding a store in a new market | Revenue-based financing | Tier 2: minimum daily balance $800, up to 2 current advances | Statements per entity |
Merchant Fund Express offers Spanish-speaking support.
Say a freestanding store deposits $64,000 a month. Royalty and ad fund drafts are $3,800, chicken, catfish and oil $21,000, payroll $18,000, rent $6,000 and a lease $1,700. The owner needs a fryer bank and roasting oven quoted at $36,000.
Figures in this example are illustrations of the arithmetic, not an offer, quote or approval. Real terms depend on the file and the funder.
A store that has not opened needs an operating history first; see buying a franchise. Owners adding a store under a development plan are read on current deposits; see second location funding. Taking over an open store follows franchise transfer financing.
Yes. Each piece is reviewed against a vendor quote and its useful life.
Yes. Third-party delivery deposits are read with card batches once they land in the business account.
The format does not change the review. We read the store's deposits, drafts and existing payments.
Yes. Each entity is read on its own, and one request can cover several stores.
No. Merchant Fund Express is independent. We use the Golden Chick name only to identify the owners this page is for; it does not mean the franchisor endorses or works with us.
Merchant Fund Express is independent. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Golden Chick or its franchisor. Brand names identify the owner audience only.
Merchant Fund Express reviews your location's revenue, deposits and existing payments. Same-day decision on a complete file; funding often the next business day. About five minutes to apply.
