Is a Buona franchisee required to offer third-party delivery services?
Buona Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
u must at all times maintain sufficient inventory, supplies and personnel to operate your Buona Business at its maximum capacity and efficiency.
You will offer third party delivery services (unless third party services are not currently available in your market) and catering services to your customers. We will establish guidelines and standards for delivery and catering services, including restricting the area within which these services may be offered. In addition, if you fail to maintain our then current operational standards and specifications for such services or if you are in default of your franchise agreement, we have the right to require you to cease offering the delivery and/or catering services.
You may not sell products through other channels of distribution such as wholesale, internet or mail order sales. Otherwise, except as provided in Item 12, we place no restrictions upon your ability to serve customers and we do not impose any restrictions limiting your access to customers.
ITEM 17 RENEWAL, TERMINATION, TRANSFER AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION
THE FRANCHISE RELATIONSHIP
This table lists certain important provisions of the Franchise Agreement and related agreements. You should read these provisions in the agreements attached to this Franchise Disclosure Document.
References to Sections in the Franchise Agreement are the same for the Dual Brand Franchise Agreement unless noted below.
| Provision | Section in Franchise Agreement | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| r. Non-competition and Non- Solicitation covenants during the term of the franchise | Section 14.2, 14.4 | No involvement in Competitive Business anywhere and no diversion of any business or customers of the Buona Business. No solicitation of our employees or our franchisee’ employees. |
| s. Non-competition and non- solicitation covenants after the franchise is terminated or expires | Section 14.3 – 14.4 | No involvement in Competitive Business for 2 years within 10 miles of the site of any Buona Business, whether or not formerly owned by you, except owning less than 2% of the outstanding shares of a publicly traded security. No solicitation of our employees or our franchisees’ employees for 1 year. |
| t. |
Source: Item 16 — RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT THE FRANCHISEE MAY SELL (FDD page 52)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Buona's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are generally required to offer delivery services through third-party providers. However, this requirement is contingent on the availability of such services in the franchisee's specific market. If third-party delivery options are not accessible in a particular area, the franchisee is not obligated to provide these services.
The FDD defines a "Third Party Delivery Service" as a company that facilitates customer purchases of menu items from the Buona franchise and delivers those items to the customer at a location different from the franchise itself. These services typically charge a fee to the franchisee, which may be deducted from the customer's payment before the funds are disbursed to the franchisee. Examples of such services include GrubHub, DoorDash, UberEats, and ezCater.
Buona retains the right to approve or disapprove any particular third-party delivery service based on whether the service meets Buona's standards and specifications. Furthermore, Buona may require franchisees to use specific software or applications for managing third-party delivery services. Franchisees must inform Buona in writing within seven days of first using a third-party delivery service, providing the name of the company and access information to the service's website to allow Buona to verify gross sales from all sources.