What are the specific requirements for site selection for a Checkers franchise, considering both Item 9 and the potential for attracting a diverse customer base?
Checkers Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
assistance.
Pre-Opening Obligations
We will provide the following pre-opening assistance:
- We will provide guidance to you in locating and developing the Franchised Restaurant as we deem appropriate. (Franchise Agreement, Sections 3.02 and 3.03);
If you have suggested a location for the Franchised Restaurant which we approve before or concurrently with the execution of the Franchise Agreement, the location will be identified in the Franchise Agreement. If we and you have not agreed upon an approved location for the Franchised Restaurant before signing the Franchise Agreement, then you must select a site for the Franchised Restaurant within the geographic area we designate ("Designated Area"). You must, within 180 days after the date of the Franchise Agreement, locate and submit for our approval a site acceptable to us within the Designated Area for the Franchised Restaurant. We will approve or disapprove each site that you propose according to our general criteria for selection of a Checkers Restaurant or Rally's Restaurant site. The site must meet our criteria for demographic characteristics; traffic patterns; parking; character of neighborhood; competition from, proximity to, and nature of other businesses; size; appearance; and other physical and commercial characteristics. We will use reasonable efforts to help analyze your market area, to help determine site feasibility, and to assist in designating the location, although we will not conduct site selection activities for you. We will provide you with our standard site selection criteria and on-site evaluations of sites, as we deem appropriate. If you enter into a Development Agreement with us, you must select sites within your specified Development Area and we will approve them in accordance with our then current criteria for selection of a Checkers Restaurant or Rally's Restaurant site.
Before you acquire, by lease or purchase, any site for your Restaurant, you must submit a franchise site package to us in the form, content and substance as we then require.
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Checkers's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must select a site that conforms to Checkers's standard site selection criteria. Item 11 specifies that Checkers will provide guidance in locating and developing the franchised restaurant as they deem appropriate. If a location is suggested and approved before signing the Franchise Agreement, it will be identified in the agreement. Otherwise, the franchisee must select a site within a designated geographic area. This site must be submitted for approval within 180 days of signing the Franchise Agreement.
Checkers will approve or disapprove sites based on general criteria for Checkers or Rally's Restaurant sites. These criteria include demographic characteristics, traffic patterns, parking, the character of the neighborhood, competition, proximity to other businesses, size, appearance, and other physical and commercial characteristics. While Checkers will provide standard site selection criteria and on-site evaluations, they will not conduct site selection activities for the franchisee. For franchisees entering into a Development Agreement, sites must be selected within the specified Development Area and approved according to Checkers's then-current criteria.
Item 12 adds that if an approved location isn't agreed upon before signing the Franchise Agreement, the franchisee must locate a suitable site within the Designated Area. This area is solely for site selection and does not provide any territorial exclusivity. Relocation of the restaurant requires Checkers's prior written consent, considering factors like the general location, neighborhood, demographic information, traffic patterns, access, visibility, location of other food establishments, and the site's physical characteristics. While franchisees do not receive an exclusive territory, they may receive a limited protected area, which is the lesser of a one-mile radius in suburban or rural areas or an area encompassing a population of 20,000 residents in urban areas. This protected area is not provided to franchisees operating from Non-Traditional Sites.
While the FDD outlines various criteria for site selection, it does not explicitly detail how these criteria ensure the attraction of a diverse customer base. A prospective franchisee should directly inquire with Checkers about specific strategies or requirements related to attracting a diverse customer base during the site selection process. This could include information on market research, demographic analysis tools, or specific location attributes that are known to appeal to a broad range of customers.