Is a Carls franchisee required to offer delivery services?
Carls Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
CJR requires Franchisee to offer delivery services only through CJR's designated providers to customers in Franchisee's market. On or before the Opening Date of the Franchised Restaurant opens, Franchisee agrees to enter into the OLO Authorized Operator Agreement with Olo, Inc. Franchisee further agrees to enter into any participation agreement required with CJR's designated delivery providers at the same time (currently, the approved delivery providers are Uber Eats, Door Dash, and GrubHub). Unless CJR provides its prior written consent, Franchisee agrees that it will not provide its own delivery service or use its employees to deliver orders to Franchisee's customers.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 80)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to the 2024 Carls Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees are required to offer delivery services, but only through Carls's designated providers. Specifically, Carls requires franchisees to offer delivery services exclusively through providers that Carls designates for the franchisee's market.
To comply with this requirement, franchisees must enter into an OLO Authorized Operator Agreement with Olo, Inc. on or before the opening date of their restaurant. Additionally, franchisees must also enter into participation agreements with Carls's approved delivery providers, which currently include Uber Eats, Door Dash, and GrubHub, at the same time as the OLO agreement.
Unless Carls provides prior written consent, franchisees are prohibited from offering their own delivery services or using their employees to deliver orders. This restriction ensures that Carls maintains control over the quality and consistency of the delivery service provided to customers, and it allows Carls to manage relationships with third-party delivery providers on behalf of all franchisees.