Before opening a Benihana Restaurant, will Benihana provide access to the Manual?
Benihana Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
Before you open the BENIHANA Restaurant, we will:
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- provide you with access to the Manual for use during the franchise term. (Franchise Agreement, Section 4.1);
We will permit you, upon your signing a confidentiality agreement, to view our Manual (as defined in Section 4.1 of the Franchise Agreement) in our facility before signing the Franchise Agreement and purchasing the franchise; but you will not be given a copy of our Manual or other proprietary materials until you sign the Franchise Agreement. You must immediately return to us the Manual, and all components of it, at your expense, following termination, transfer, or expiration of the Franchise Agreement.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 36–47)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Benihana's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, before opening a Benihana Restaurant, Benihana will provide access to the Manual for use during the franchise term. Benihana will also permit prospective franchisees to view the Manual at their facility before signing the Franchise Agreement and purchasing the franchise, provided they sign a confidentiality agreement. However, franchisees will not be given a copy of the Manual or other proprietary materials until they sign the Franchise Agreement.
This means that a potential franchisee can review the Benihana operations manual to understand the brand's standards and procedures before committing to the franchise. However, they only get full access to the manual after signing the agreement. This is a common practice in franchising, allowing potential franchisees to get a glimpse into the system while protecting the franchisor's proprietary information.
Upon termination, transfer, or expiration of the Franchise Agreement, the franchisee must immediately return the Manual and all its components to Benihana at their expense. This ensures that the confidential information contained within the Manual remains protected and is not used outside of the franchise agreement.