Are Black Bear Diner franchisee members required to sign nondisclosure agreements?

According to the 2025 Black Bear Diner Franchise Disclosure Document, certain individuals associated with a franchisee may be required to sign nondisclosure and non-competition agreements. These individuals include shareholders, officers, directors, partners, employees, members, managers, and the franchisee's spouse.

Black Bear Diner requires these agreements to protect its confidential information, which includes trade secrets and competitively sensitive information not generally known to the public. This information relates to the Black Bear Diner system, such as recipes, food specifications, methods and techniques of food preparation, business operating systems and techniques, record-keeping and reporting methods, accounting systems, management systems and techniques, management training techniques, specifications for signs, displays, placemats, menus, bags, containers, business forms, and business stationery to be used by franchisees, designs, drawings, and specifications for business premises, operating manuals for franchisees, ideas, research and development, know-how, lists of franchisees and suppliers, suggested pricing and cost information, and business and marketing plans and proposals.

The agreements must be in a form approved by Black Bear Diner. This ensures that the nondisclosure and non-competition terms are standardized and provide adequate protection for the franchisor's proprietary information and business methods. This is a common practice in franchising to maintain brand consistency and protect the franchisor's competitive advantage.