After termination or expiration of the Buona franchise agreement, what must a franchisee immediately cease doing regarding the operation of the Franchised Business?
Buona Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, all rights granted to Franchisee under this Agreement will immediately terminate, Franchisee shall cease to be a licensed franchisee of Franchisor, and:
(a) Franchisee shall immediately cease to operate the Franchised Business as an Buona Business, and shall not thereafter, directly or indirectly, represent to the public that the restaurant is or was a Buona Business;
(b) Franchisee shall immediately and permanently cease to use, by advertising or in any manner whatsoever, any menus, recipes, confidential formulae, equipment, methods, procedures, techniques associated with the System, the Marks, and Franchisor's other trade names, trademarks and service marks associated with the System.
In particular, and without limitation, Franchisee shall cease to use all signs, menus, advertising and promotional materials, stationery, forms, packaging, containers and any other articles which display the Marks;
- (c) In the event Franchisee continues to operate or subsequently begins to operate a restaurant or other business, Franchisee shall not use any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable imitation of the Marks in conjunction with such other business which is likely to cause confusion or mistake or to deceive, and further agrees to remove all unique markings, colors, décor, Marks and other features ("Trade Dress") that identify the Franchised Business as a former Buona Business, and otherwise take all necessary steps to disassociate itself from the System and Franchisor, including but not limited to, the removal of signs and all Trade Dress from the premises of the Franchised Business and destruction of printed materials.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 78–356)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Buona's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, after the termination or expiration of the franchise agreement, the franchisee must immediately cease certain activities related to the operation of the Buona business. Specifically, the franchisee must stop operating the business as a Buona business and must not represent to the public that the restaurant is or was a Buona business. This means the franchisee can no longer use the Buona brand name or imply any affiliation with Buona.
Additionally, the franchisee must immediately and permanently stop using any menus, recipes, confidential formulas, equipment, methods, procedures, and techniques associated with the Buona system. They are also prohibited from using Buona's trade names, trademarks, and service marks. This includes refraining from using any signs, menus, advertising and promotional materials, stationery, forms, packaging, containers, or any other items that display Buona's marks.
Furthermore, the franchisee must remove all unique markings, colors, décor, and other features that identify the business as a former Buona location. They must take all necessary steps to disassociate themselves from the Buona system, including removing signs and trade dress from the premises and destroying printed materials. This ensures that the public is not confused or deceived into thinking the business is still associated with Buona.