Following the termination or expiration of the Amorino area development agreement, for how long are franchisees restricted from certain activities?
Amorino Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
| Non r. competition covenants after the franchise is | Section 18.D of the franchise agreement | During a two-year uninterrupted period after the expiration or termination, neither you, nor any officer, director, shareholder or general partner or limited partner of a corporate or partnership franchisee, shall: |
|---|---|---|
| terminated or expires | (1) Divert or attempt to divert any present or prospective customer or supplier of any Amorino Store to any competitor, by direct or indirect inducement or otherwise, or do or perform, directly or indirectly, any other act injurious or prejudicial to the goodwill associated with the proprietary marks and the system. | |
| (2) Employ or seek to employ any person who is or has been | ||
| within the previous 30 days employed by Amorino or an | ||
| Affiliate of Amorino as a salaried managerial employee, or | ||
| otherwise directly or indirectly induce such person to leave his | ||
| or her employment. | ||
| (3) Own, maintain, advise, operate, engage in, be employed | ||
| by, make loans to, invest in, provide any assistance to, or have | ||
| any interest in (as owner or otherwise) or relationship or | ||
| association with, any business that engages in the production | ||
| or sale at retail or wholesale of gelato or other ice cream | ||
| maintenance, and any other products or services offered by | ||
| your Store or proposed to be offered by your Store or offered | ||
| by Amorino stores, at any location within the United States, | ||
| its territories or commonwealths, or any other country, | ||
| province, state or geographic area that (i) is, or is intended to | ||
| be, located at the acquisition of any of your former stores; (ii) | ||
| within the former protected area of any of your stores (or, if | ||
| there was no protected area, | ||
| within a three-mile radius of the | ||
| store); (iii) within a three-mile radius of any other store | ||
| operating under the system and proprietary marks in existence | ||
| or under development at the time of such expiration, | ||
| termination or transfer; or (iv) anywhere within your former | ||
| territory. |
Source: Item 17 — RENEWAL, TERMINATION, TRANSFER, AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION (FDD pages 55–67)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Amorino's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are subject to certain restrictions for a period of two years after the expiration or termination of the franchise agreement. Specifically, Section 18.D of the franchise agreement outlines these post-termination non-compete covenants.
During this two-year period, the franchisee, including its officers, directors, shareholders, or partners, is prohibited from engaging in activities that could harm Amorino's business. This includes diverting customers or suppliers to competitors, attempting to injure the goodwill associated with Amorino's brand, and employing or soliciting employees of Amorino or its affiliates who are in salaried managerial positions or have been employed within the last 30 days.
Furthermore, the franchisee is restricted from owning, operating, or being involved with any business that produces or sells gelato or similar products. This restriction applies to locations within the United States, its territories, and other countries, specifically targeting areas where the former Amorino store was located, its protected area (or a three-mile radius if no protected area existed), or within a three-mile radius of any other Amorino store. The non-compete also extends to the franchisee's former territory.
These non-compete terms are typical in franchising to protect the brand and prevent franchisees from using the franchisor's knowledge and resources to compete against the system after leaving. Prospective Amorino franchisees should carefully review Section 18.D of the franchise agreement to fully understand the scope and limitations of these post-termination restrictions.