Is Black Bear Diner currently offering Option Agreements to develop additional restaurants?

According to Black Bear Diner's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Black Bear Diner does not currently intend to offer additional Option Agreements. From March 2012 to March 2018, Black Bear Diner offered qualified existing franchisees the option to develop and operate one additional restaurant in a specific territory under an Option Agreement.

This means that while Black Bear Diner previously used Option Agreements as a growth strategy, they are not actively offering them to new or existing franchisees at this time. A prospective franchisee who is interested in developing multiple Black Bear Diner locations should focus on the Area Development Agreement, which allows qualified franchisees the right to develop multiple restaurants within a specific geographic area over a set time period, according to a pre-determined schedule.

The FDD specifies that under the Area Development Agreement, a franchisee will sign a separate Franchise Agreement for each restaurant they establish, using the then-current form of the Franchise Agreement offered to new franchisees. The size of the Development Area will vary depending on local market conditions and the number of restaurants to be developed. This indicates that Black Bear Diner is still open to multi-unit development through Area Development Agreements, but not through the previously offered Option Agreements.