Must any lease or sublease of the Premises for an Aw franchise be approved by the franchisor?
Aw Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 4.2 Lease of Premises. Any lease or sublease of the Premises must be approved by us before it is executed by you and we can require that certain terms and provisions be included in the lease or sublease.
At our option, we may require that the lease: (i) have a term, with initial and renewal terms, at least equal to the initial term of this Agreement; (ii) be collaterally assigned to us (with the consent of the lessor, if required), by execution of the Collateral Assignment of Lease attached hereto as Exhibit 3 (the assignment may be exercised only upon your default under the lease or this Agreement or the expiration or termination of this Agreement); (iii) provides that the lessor shall give written notice to us (concurrently with you) of any default by you under the lease, and will give us an additional fifteen (15) days to cure any default not cured by you during the cure period and assign the lease to us if defaults are cured by us; (iv) permits the use on the Premises of all signs required by the us for Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurants, subject to applicable local laws, codes and ordinances; (v) provides that on expiration or termination of your Franchise Agreement, we may enter the leased
premises and remove all signs, sign-faces and other items identifying Marks; (vi) provides that the Premises will only be used for the operation of a Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurant; and (vii) provides that the lessor will not lease other premises in the same shopping center to a competing business.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 39–40)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Aw's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, any lease or sublease of the premises for an Aw franchise must be approved by Aw before it is executed by the franchisee. Aw also has the right to require that certain terms and provisions be included in the lease or sublease.
Aw has the option to require that the lease have a term, including initial and renewal terms, that is at least equal to the initial term of the Franchise Agreement. Aw can also require that the lease be collaterally assigned to them, with the lessor's consent if needed, through the execution of a Collateral Assignment of Lease. This assignment can be exercised if the franchisee defaults under the lease or the Franchise Agreement, or if the agreement expires or terminates.
Additionally, Aw can mandate that the lessor provide written notice to Aw concurrently with the franchisee regarding any default by the franchisee under the lease. The lessor must also grant Aw an additional fifteen days to cure any default not resolved by the franchisee during the cure period and assign the lease to Aw if Aw cures the defaults. The lease must also permit the use of all signs required by Aw for Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurants, subject to local laws, codes, and ordinances. The lease should state that upon expiration or termination of the Franchise Agreement, Aw may enter the leased premises to remove all signs and other items identifying Marks. Finally, the lease must specify that the premises will only be used for the operation of a Papa Ray's Pizza Restaurant and that the lessor will not lease other premises in the same shopping center to a competing business.