Who bears the expense of preparing the website page for a Black Bear Diner franchisee's restaurant?
Black_Bear_Diner Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisor has established and maintains a website on the Internet at the uniform resource locator "http://www.blackbeardiner.com" ("Website") that provides information about the Black Bear Diner restaurant system and the menu items and services that Franchisor and its franchisees provide.
Franchisor may (but is not required to) include at the Website an interior page containing information about Franchisee's Franchised Restaurant and other Franchised Restaurants.
If Franchisor includes such information on the Website, then Franchisor may require Franchisee to prepare all or a portion of the page, at Franchisee's expense, using a template that Franchisor provides for inclusion on the Website.
All such information shall be subject to Franchisor's approval prior to posting.
Franchisee may not separately register any domain name containing any of the Marks, and may not have a website for the Franchised Restaurant other than a website or web page that may be developed as part of Franchisor's Website.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 56–243)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Black Bear Diner Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee is responsible for the expense of preparing their restaurant's page on the Black Bear Diner website. While Black Bear Diner maintains the website, they may require the franchisee to prepare all or a portion of the page featuring their specific restaurant.
The franchisee must use a template provided by Black Bear Diner for this purpose, ensuring brand consistency across all franchise locations online. All information prepared by the franchisee is subject to Black Bear Diner's approval before it is posted on the website. This allows Black Bear Diner to maintain control over the content and ensure it meets their standards.
This arrangement means that prospective Black Bear Diner franchisees should budget for the cost of creating and maintaining their online presence within the corporate website. It is common in franchising for franchisees to bear such costs, as it allows for localized marketing while maintaining a unified brand image. Franchisees are also restricted from creating separate websites or registering domain names that use Black Bear Diner's trademarks without prior approval.