Investment Overview

Marcus & Millichap is pleased to offer for sale, the fee simple interest in a Church's Chicken in Hartwell, GA. The credit quality behind this lease is worth examining on its own terms rather than taking the corporate guaranty at face value. Church's Chicken has operated under High Bluff Capital Partners' ownership since 2021, and the operating results since that acquisition are the more relevant data point than the guaranty language itself: average franchisee restaurant sales are up over $200,000 per unit, cumulative same-store sales growth across the system runs approximately 19% through Q1 2026, and 2025 marked the brand's first year of positive net U.S. unit growth since 2010. Golub Capital's July 2026 growth-equity investment arrived after these results were already realized, not ahead of them — the capital is directed at supply chain modernization, technology, and loyalty infrastructure that extends an operating model already shown to work, rather than financing a turnaround still in progress. That sequencing is the relevant underwriting point for a landlord: the tenant's ability to perform on a 20-year absolute NNN obligation is supported by a demonstrated four-year operating record, and the new capital is scaling that record rather than substituting for it. The site fundamentals reinforce rather than carry the thesis — 16,000 VPD on E Franklin St, a Lake Hartwell trade area drawing an estimated 14 million annual visitors, three schools within a mile, and a proposed mixed-use development adjacent to the site that should add density to the trade area over the hold period. The deal also fits a specific transactional profile worth noting for 1031 exchange buyers. At a sub-$2 million basis with a corporate guaranty, true absolute NNN structure, and a long primary term carrying contractual 10% increases every five years, the asset requires minimal ongoing diligence relative to operating real estate — no property management, no capital planning around building systems given the 2025 construction date, and a lease structure that transfers essentially all operating risk to the tenant. For an exchange buyer working within a 45-day identification window, those characteristics reduce the diligence burden materially compared to multifamily or retail centers with active management components. The construction date also limits near-term capital exposure for a levered buyer, which simplifies lender underwriting relative to older single-tenant product. These are the attributes that make this asset a fit for exchange capital moving out of management-intensive holdings and into a passive, income-focused replacement property.