If Cinnabon and the franchisee have not agreed on an Accepted Location when signing the Franchise Agreement, what is the Cinnabon franchisee required to do?
Cinnabon Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 1.1 Grant of Franchise. Subject to the terms of this Agreement, we grant to you, and you accept, a non-exclusive license to operate one Business using the Marks and the System (collectively, your "Franchised Business"). Unless we authorize you to operate a satellite retail unit (a "SRU"), the Franchised Business will be operated only at the location specified in Schedule A (the "Accepted Location") or, if we have not yet accepted a site for the Franchised Business as of the date of this Agreement, at a location that we have accepted in accordance with this Agreement within the geographic area specified in Schedule A (the "Site Selection Area"). If we approve you to operate an SRU, you may engage in certain, but not all, of the activities contemplated by this Agreement from a location that we specify (the "SRU Location"). The SRU will also be considered part of the definition of Franchised Business.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 114–399)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Cinnabon Franchise Disclosure Document, if Cinnabon and the franchisee have not yet agreed on an Accepted Location when signing the Franchise Agreement, the franchisee will operate at a location that Cinnabon accepts within the geographic area specified in Schedule A, referred to as the "Site Selection Area".
This means that while the franchisee doesn't have a specific location nailed down at the outset, they are confined to a pre-approved geographic zone for their Cinnabon bakery. The franchisee needs to work with Cinnabon to find a suitable site within that designated area. This Site Selection Area is defined in Schedule A of the Franchise Agreement.
This arrangement gives Cinnabon some control over where its franchises are located, ensuring they meet certain criteria and don't encroach on existing territories. For a prospective franchisee, it means they need to be flexible and prepared to consider different locations within the Site Selection Area, rather than having complete freedom to choose any site they want. The franchisee should carefully review Schedule A to understand the boundaries of the Site Selection Area and factor that into their business plan.