Under what conditions can a Beggars Pizza franchisee establish a separate website for their restaurant?
Beggars_Pizza Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
The term "Website" means an interactive electronic document on the Internet including any account, page, or other presence on a social or business networking media site such as Meta, Twitter, LinkedIn, and on-line blogs and forums (collectively, "Networking Media Sites"). You may not establish a separate Website for the Restaurant without our approval. We may require you to have one or more references or webpages as we designate and approve by us in advance within our principal Website (currently, www.beggarspizza.com). We may require that you not have any Website other than the webpages, if any, made available on our principal Website. (Franchise Agreement, Section 8.8.) You must participate in any online, electronic, or centralized ordering programs that we develop, which may include the purchase of special hardware, software, fixtures, or equipment at your expense. (Franchise Agreement, Section 7.4.14.) The systems currently necessary to participate in our online ordering programs are described in this Item 11 under "Computer Systems."
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 19–26)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Beggars Pizza's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee cannot establish a separate website for their restaurant without the franchisor's approval. Beggars Pizza may require franchisees to have designated and approved webpages within the franchisor's principal website, which is currently www.beggarspizza.com. Beggars Pizza also retains the right to prohibit franchisees from having any website other than the webpages made available on their principal website.
This policy gives Beggars Pizza significant control over the franchisee's online presence and branding. It ensures uniformity and consistency in how the brand is presented online. This is a common practice in franchising, as franchisors want to maintain brand standards across all locations.
For a prospective franchisee, this means they will need to seek approval from Beggars Pizza before creating any independent website or online presence for their restaurant. They should also be prepared to operate solely through the franchisor's website if required. It is important to understand the implications of this policy and how it might affect their ability to market their specific location online. Franchisees must also participate in any online, electronic, or centralized ordering programs that Beggars Pizza develops, potentially incurring expenses for hardware, software, fixtures, or equipment.