How might a virus transmitted by human contact affect Benihana's employees or customers?
Benihana Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
ons and other segments of the industry may harm our ability to maintain acceptable levels of revenue growth, limit our development of new restaurants or concepts, or force us to close one or more of our restaurants or F&B hospitality services operations.
We may also need to evolve our concepts to compete with popular new restaurant or F&B hospitality services operation formats, concepts or trends that emerge from time to time, and we cannot provide any assurance that any changes we make to any of our concepts in response will be successful or not adversely affect our profitability.
Health and Safety
Health concerns arising from outbreaks of flu viruses or other diseases, or regional or global health pandemics could severely affect our business.
The United States and other countries have experienced, or may experience in the future, outbreaks of viruses, such as coronavirus, norovirus, Avian Flu or "SARS," H1N1 or "swine flu," or other diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as "mad cow disease." If a virus is transmitted by human contact, our employees or customers may become inf
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 73–74)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Benihana's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the company acknowledges the potential for significant business disruption due to outbreaks of viruses transmitted by human contact. If a virus spreads through human contact, Benihana's employees or customers could become infected. This could lead individuals to avoid public places, which would reduce guest traffic at Benihana restaurants.
Reduced guest traffic could then impact Benihana's ability to adequately staff its restaurants and receive deliveries on a timely basis. Furthermore, the document states that Benihana's corporate-level functions could be affected. Jurisdictions where Benihana restaurants are located might also impose mandatory closures, seek voluntary closures, or place restrictions on operations, further impacting the business.
Even if mandatory measures aren't implemented and a virus doesn't spread significantly, the perceived risk of infection or significant health risk could still adversely affect Benihana's business. The FDD emphasizes that health concerns arising from outbreaks of flu viruses or other diseases, or regional or global health pandemics could severely affect their business.