Is the Development Agreement for Antioch Pizza Shop a Franchise Agreement?
Antioch_Pizza_Shop Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Each Antioch Pizza Shop Restaurant franchise must be established and operated pursuant to a separate Franchise Agreement ("Franchise Agreement") to be entered into by you (or an entity owned by your Owners) and us.
Each Franchise Agreement shall be in the form of Franchise Agreement being offered by us at the time you execute the Franchise Agreement, which may differ from the form of Franchise Agreement being offered by us on the date of execution of this Agreement, except that an addendum to the Franchise Agreement shall be entered into to incorporate terms of this Agreement relating to initial franchise fees to be paid to you under each Franchise Agreement.
The terms and conditions of each such Franchise Agreement shall control the establishment and operation of such Antioch Pizza Shop Restaurant.
Source: Item 22 — Contracts (FDD pages 56–57)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 FDD, the Development Agreement for Antioch Pizza Shop is not a Franchise Agreement. The FDD states that each Antioch Pizza Shop Restaurant franchise must be established and operated under a separate Franchise Agreement. The Development Agreement grants the developer the right to obtain franchises to establish and operate multiple Antioch Pizza Shop restaurants within a specific geographic area, subject to the terms of the agreement.
To develop each Antioch Pizza Shop Restaurant, the developer must provide written notice of their intention to begin development at least 30 days before executing the Franchise Agreement, submit a description of the proposed site, execute the then-current form of the Franchise Agreement, execute a lease or purchase agreement for the site, and meet all requirements for developing and opening the restaurant under the Franchise Agreement. The franchisor is only obligated to execute the Franchise Agreement if the developer maintains the necessary knowledge, experience, skills, and financial resources, complies with the Development Agreement, and complies with any existing Franchise Agreements.
The Development Agreement outlines the developer's obligations, including adhering to the Development Schedule and continuously maintaining the operation of the required number of Antioch Pizza Shop Restaurants. The terms and conditions of the Franchise Agreement will control the establishment and operation of each Antioch Pizza Shop Restaurant, and in case of any conflict between the Development Agreement and a Franchise Agreement, the Franchise Agreement takes precedence. Therefore, the Development Agreement serves as an overarching agreement for developing multiple franchise locations, while each individual location operates under its own separate Franchise Agreement.