El Chico Restaurant
The total investment to open a El Chico Restaurant franchise ranges from $308,920 to $947,200. The initial franchise fee is $35,000. Ongoing royalties are 5%.
What is the El Chico Restaurant franchise?
El Chico Restaurant is a full service restaurant where customers dine and order meals. The estimated total initial investment is $308,920 to $947,200, and the initial franchise fee is $35,000.
The ongoing royalty is 5 percent of sales. The brand was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Dallas, OK.
Loan Activity Score
33/100
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
Active Lenders
10
According to its Franchise Disclosure Document or public business records, El Chico Restaurant has 9 locations, all owned by franchisees. Public SBA loan records show 10 lenders made 10 loans to franchisees of El Chico Restaurant. PeerSense calculates El Chico Restaurant's score as 33 out of 100, using public SBA loan performance and recent lending activity.
Franchising since 1940 · 9 locations
$308,920 to $947,200
$35,000
9
9 franchised
Proprietary PeerSense metric
LimitedDistinct lenders in public SBA records for El Chico Restaurant
10
Total SBA loans
$678K
Average loan size
Source: public SBA 7(a) and 504 loan records through December 31, 2025
Referral fee at closing
SBA Lending Activity for El Chico Restaurant
Loan Activity Score Breakdown
Growing (10 to 24 loans)
Are lenders increasingly or decreasingly funding this brand? Growing trends score highest.
Blended default rate (recent + all time) compared to NAICS sector peers.
Quality lenders actively backing this brand, with penalty for lender pullback.
FDD availability, Item 19 disclosure, and overall data completeness.
Geographic spread of SBA funded locations across states.
SBA Lending Performance
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
vs 10.3% peer avg
SBA Loans
10
Total Volume
$6.8M
Active Lenders
10
States
8
vs. SBA Sector Average
SBA loan default rate vs. all franchises in the same NAICS sector, not limited to direct competitors
Key Highlights
Franchise Financing Resources
Data Insights
Key performance metrics for El Chico Restaurant based on SBA lending data
SBA Default Rate
10.0%
0.3% below peer avg
SBA Loan Volume
10 loans
Across 10 lenders
Lender Diversity
10 lenders
Avg 1.0 loans per lender
Investment Tier
Significant investment
$308,920 to $947,200 total
El Chico Restaurant: Deep SBA Data
Brand specific metrics derived directly from SBA 7(a) approval records: peak lending year, leading state, average loan size, and lender concentration. PeerSense computes these per brand so capital advisors and prospective franchisees can benchmark this opportunity against the rest of the franchise universe.
Peak SBA Year
2007
2 approvals. The best year on record for El Chico Restaurant.
Top SBA State
Texas
2 SBA financed El Chico Restaurant locations, the densest operator footprint.
Average Loan Size
$678K
Median $745K. Use as a sizing anchor when modeling your own El Chico Restaurant unit.
Lender Concentration
30%
Moderately Spread
Share of El Chico Restaurant approvals captured by the top 3 SBA lenders.
El Chico Restaurant's SBA lending pipeline peaked in 2007 (2 approvals). Operator density is highest in Texas with 2 SBA financed locations. Average funded ticket sits at $678K, with the median at $745K. Lender mix is moderately spread: the top three SBA lenders account for 30% of approvals. Meaningful choice exists, but specific lenders carry the brand.
Payment Estimator
Estimated Monthly Payment
$3,198
Principal & Interest only
Indicative only, as of October 1, 2026. Not a quote, commitment or offer of credit. Final pricing, leverage and terms are determined by the lender at underwriting, after full transaction materials are reviewed. PeerSense sources the file. The lender sets pricing. What these terms mean.
Locations
El Chico Restaurant, unit breakdown
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Reviewed by Edward L. Freeman, Founder and Managing Director, PeerSense
- PeerSense is a capital advisory firm that places commercial financing with direct capital sources; it does not lend, fund, or approve loans, and the capital source sets final terms.
- Edward L. Freeman founded PeerSense in January 2020.
- He is a Registered Franchise Consultant with Business Alliance, Inc., a credential issued in March 2022, and worked as a franchise consultant there from March 2022 to May 2023.
- His recorded experience includes a $22 million SBA construction loan, with about $16 million funded on the deal.
- In the 12 months through September 30, 2026, PeerSense tracked 912 publicly announced financings with a disclosed size of $361.32 billion. PeerSense Capital Data Report · Methodology page
Last reviewed LinkedIn profileAbout Edward Freeman