Does Bens Soft Pretzels require franchisees to purchase or lease real estate from them or their affiliates?
Bens_Soft_Pretzels Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
quality standards. Although you are not required to purchase or lease real estate from us or our affiliates, we must accept the location of your Store (see Item 11). Further, if you choose to operate in a captive venue location for which we or our affiliates have entered into an arrangement, you will enter into an addendum to your Franchise Agreement in either the form of a sublease or sublicense as applicable, both of which are included as a Schedule to your Franchise Agreement. You must construct and equip your Store in accordance with our then current
approved design, specifications and standards. In addition, it is your responsibility to ensure that your building plans comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and all other federal, state and local laws.
We reserve the right to designate a primary or single source of supply for certain products and supplies, and we or an affiliate may be that single source. For example, as of the date of this Disclosure Document, you must purchase your loyalty cards, gift cards, starter kit, some flavor toppings and some of the equipment and signage for your Store solely from our affiliate, Live Large Distribution Inc*.* In addition, you must purchase your food, Ben's Soft Pretzels pretzel mix and proprietary goods such as your cups, lids, pretzel sleeves, imported German salt, and take-home kits from Gordon Food Service, Inc. In limited instances when these items are not available from Gordon Food Service, you will purchase such items from Live Large Distribution, Inc. You must participate in our national Pepsi contract and serve Pepsi soft drinks unless your store is inside a designated area for a different soda brand. You must obtain your point of sale hardware and software system and your payments processing system from our approved supplier.
If you intend to operate the Store at a space within a Meijer store for which we have entered into a Master In-Store License, then you must enter into the Sublicense which is attached to your Franchise Agreement as a Schedule. The sublicensor on the Sublicense for a space within a Meijer store is our affiliate, Evan Jones Management Inc.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 18–22)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bens Soft Pretzels' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are not required to purchase or lease real estate directly from Bens Soft Pretzels or its affiliates. However, Bens Soft Pretzels must approve the location of the store. If a franchisee chooses to operate in a "captive venue" where Bens Soft Pretzels or its affiliates have an existing arrangement, the franchisee will need to enter into an addendum to the Franchise Agreement, which could be in the form of a sublease or sublicense.
Specifically, if a franchisee intends to operate a Bens Soft Pretzels store within a Walmart store (or any other store or location) for which Bens Soft Pretzels has a Master Lease Agreement, the franchisee must enter into a Sublease, with Ben's Soft Pretzels LLC as the sublessor. Similarly, if the store is located within a Meijer store under a Master In-Store License, the franchisee must enter into a Sublicense, with Evan Jones Management Inc. (an affiliate) as the sublicensor.
In 2024, Ben's Soft Pretzels LLC received $34,800.00 from subleasing space to franchisees, which constituted 1.95% of its total revenue of $1,783,530.73. Evan Jones Management Inc. received $16,800.00 from subleasing space, representing 12.89% of its total revenue of $130,290.23. These subleasing arrangements include a $200 monthly Lease Administration Fee and the rent that Evan Jones Management Inc. passes through to the landlord. While franchisees are not obligated to purchase or lease real estate from Bens Soft Pretzels or its affiliates, these subleasing arrangements in specific locations demonstrate that it can occur.