Can 7 Brew delay my development of additional 7 Brew Stores within the Territory?
7_Brew Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Despite the development schedule in the DRR, we have the right to delay your development and/or opening of additional 7 BREW Stores within the Territory if we believe, when you apply for another Store or after you (or your Approved Affiliate) have developed and constructed but not yet opened a particular Store, that you (or your Approved Affiliate) are not yet operationally, managerially, or otherwise prepared (no matter the reason) to develop, open, and/or operate the additional 7 BREW Store in full compliance with our standards and specifications. We have the right to delay additional development and/or a Store's opening for the time period we deem best if the delay will not in our reasonable opinion cause you to breach your development obligations under the development schedule (unless we are willing to extend the schedule to account for the delay).
Furthermore, if we delay your (or your Approved Affiliate's) progress in satisfying your development obligations under the development schedule due to our failure to timely accept a proposed Store site (which is acceptable based on the criteria described above), you provide written notice to us and give us at least 10 days to cure such delay, but we fail to cure such delay within that 10-day period, then we agree that you may unilaterally adjust the development schedule to add the number of days we delayed your progress to the opening deadline for each additional 7 BREW Store to be developed by you (or your Approved Affiliate) under the development schedule following such delay.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 45–49)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to 7 Brew's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, 7 Brew does have the right to delay the development and/or opening of additional 7 Brew stores within the territory under certain conditions. Specifically, 7 Brew can delay development if they believe the franchisee (or an Approved Affiliate) is not operationally, managerially, or otherwise prepared to develop, open, and/or operate the additional store in full compliance with 7 Brew's standards and specifications. The reason for the lack of preparedness does not matter.
However, this right to delay is not absolute. 7 Brew can only delay development for a time period they deem best, and only if the delay will not cause the franchisee to breach their development obligations under the development schedule, unless 7 Brew is willing to extend the schedule to account for the delay. This suggests that while 7 Brew can postpone development, they must consider the franchisee's overall obligations and avoid causing a breach of contract.
Furthermore, the 7 Brew FDD states that if 7 Brew delays the franchisee's progress in satisfying development obligations due to a failure to timely accept a proposed store site, and the franchisee provides written notice and allows 10 days for 7 Brew to cure the delay, the franchisee may unilaterally adjust the development schedule. This adjustment involves adding the number of days 7 Brew delayed the progress to the opening deadline for each additional 7 Brew store to be developed under the schedule following the delay. This provision offers some protection to the franchisee against delays caused by 7 Brew's own actions regarding site approval.