What is the Black Bear Diner Developer required to submit to the Franchisor for each restaurant to be developed?
Black_Bear_Diner Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
For each Black Bear Diner restaurant to be developed hereunder, Developer shall submit to Franchisor, in a form specified by Franchisor, a completed site approval package which shall include a site approval form prescribed by Franchisor, an option contract, letter of intent, term sheet, or other evidence satisfactory to Franchisor which describes Developer's favorable prospects for obtaining such site, and such other information or materials as Franchisor may reasonably require.
No site shall be deemed approved unless it has been expressly approved in writing by Franchisor.
Developer hereby acknowledges and agrees that approval by Franchisor of a site does not constitute an assurance, representation, or warranty of any kind, express or implied, as to the suitability of the site for the Black Bear Diner restaurant or for any other purpose.
Approval by Franchisor of the site indicates only that Franchisor believes the site complies with acceptable minimum criteria established by Franchisor solely for its purposes as of the time of the evaluation.
Both Franchisee and Franchisor acknowledge that application of criteria that may have been effective with respect to other sites and premises may not be predictive of potential for all sites and that, subsequent to approval by Franchisor of a site, demographic and/or economic factors, such as competition from other similar businesses, included in or excluded from criteria used by Franchisor could change, thereby altering the potential of a site.
Such factors are unpredictable and are beyond the control of Franchisor.
Franchisor shall not be responsible for the failure of a site approved by Franchisor to meet Developer's expectations as to revenue or operational criteria.
Developer further acknowledges and agrees that its acceptance of a franchise for the operation of a Black Bear Diner restaurant at a site is based on its own independent investigation of the suitability of the site.
For each Black Bear Diner restaurant to be developed hereunder, Developer shall execute a lease/sublease that complies with the applicable provisions of the Franchise Agreement, or a binding agreement to purchase the site.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 56–243)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Black Bear Diner Franchise Disclosure Document, a Developer is required to submit a completed site approval package to the Franchisor for each restaurant to be developed. This package must be in a form specified by Black Bear Diner.
The site approval package includes a site approval form prescribed by Black Bear Diner, an option contract, a letter of intent, a term sheet, or other evidence satisfactory to Black Bear Diner that describes the Developer's favorable prospects for obtaining the site. The package should also include any other information or materials that Black Bear Diner may reasonably require.
It is important to note that no site is considered approved unless Black Bear Diner expressly approves it in writing. However, even with written approval, this does not guarantee the site's suitability for a Black Bear Diner restaurant or any other purpose. The approval only indicates that Black Bear Diner believes the site meets its minimum criteria at the time of evaluation.
Additionally, the Developer must execute a lease/sublease that complies with the Franchise Agreement's provisions or a binding agreement to purchase the site for each Black Bear Diner restaurant to be developed.