Who is responsible for selecting the site for a Corner Bakery Cafe franchise?
Corner_Bakery_Cafe Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ct to change, without notice.
Site Selection and Development of Your Franchised Cafe
We do not select the site for your Franchised Cafe. You select the site for your Franchised Cafe, subject to our approval of the site. You must select a site that we approve in writing (the "Site"), and you must fully execute a lease or sublease that we have approved for the Site or fully execute a deed for the Site and submit such deed for recordation by the Site Acquisition Deadline that you and we agree to in your Franchise Agreement and/or your Development Agreement. If you fail to do so, you will be in default and we may terminate your Franchise Agreement and/or Development Agreement. You should not acquire any interest in a site for your Franchised Cafe until you have signed the Franchise Agreement, we have approved the site in writing, and we have approved the lease or sublease. We do not generally own the premises of Corner Bakey Cafes to lease to our franchisees.
You must follow the site selection and site approval processes and standards set forth in the Manual for each site that you develop. You must submit a preliminary site application to us that contains the information we reasonably require for each proposed site which you reasonably believe conforms to our site selection criteria ("Site Application"). Each Site Application must include, among other things, a description of the proposed site, a market feasibility study for the proposed site, a letter of intent (or other written confirmation demonstrating your ability to acquire the proposed site) and a summary of how the site meets our site selection criteria. We may change our site selection criteria periodically, which may include demographic characteristics, traffic count and patterns, parking, character of the neighborhood, competition from other businesses in the area, the proximity to other businesses (including restaurants operated or franchised by us or our affiliates), the nature of other businesses in proximity to the site and other commercial characteristics (including the purchase price, rental obligations and other lease terms for the proposed site) and the size, appearance, other physical characteristics, and a site plan of the premises.
Within 30 days after our receipt of the completed Site Application (which must include all information and materials regarding a proposed site that we reasonably request), we will advise you in writing whether we have approved or rejected the proposed site, which decision we shall make in our sole discretion.
Once the site has been designated as an approved Site and you have completed due diligence as required in the Manual, we will engage, at your expense, the services of an architect or planner to prepare a Design Development Plan. Upon completion of the Design Development Plan, you shall be responsible for engaging an Approved Architect to develop Plans and Specifications for building permit submittal based on the Design Development Plan and an Approved Branding Vendor to develop a Branding Plan for the exterior of the Franchised Cafe. You shall submit to us your final Plans and Specifications and Branding Plan for our approval (which may be granted or withheld at our discretion) before commencing construction of the Franchised Cafe. All prototype and modified Plans and Specifications and Branding Plans for the Franchised Cafe remain our sole and exclusive property, and you may claim no interest in those modified plans and specifications. You will be responsible for obtaining all necessary design approvals for the Plans and Specifications and Branding Plan, including but not limited to, required approvals from your landlord, the municipality and any third party approving parties.
If you develop multiple Franchised Cafes pursuant to a Development Agreement, you will be required comply with the site selection criteria that we have in place at the time that you submit each site to us.
We may reject a site for a proposed Franchised Cafe if you fail to demonstrate sufficient financial capabilities, in our sole judgment, applying standards consistent with criteria we use to establish Cafes in other comparable market areas, to properly develop, operate and maintain the proposed Franchised Cafe.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 26–37)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Corner Bakery Cafe's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee is responsible for selecting the site for their franchised cafe. However, this selection is subject to Corner Bakery Cafe's approval. The franchisee must secure a site that Corner Bakery Cafe approves in writing and fully execute a lease, sublease, or deed for the site by the agreed-upon Site Acquisition Deadline. Failure to meet this deadline may result in default and potential termination of the Franchise Agreement or Development Agreement. The FDD advises franchisees not to acquire any interest in a site until the Franchise Agreement is signed and the site and lease or sublease have received written approval from Corner Bakery Cafe.
The prospective Corner Bakery Cafe franchisee must adhere to the site selection and approval processes and standards outlined in the Manual. This includes submitting a preliminary Site Application containing all reasonably required information, such as a description of the proposed site, a market feasibility study, a letter of intent, and a summary of how the site aligns with Corner Bakery Cafe's site selection criteria. These criteria, which Corner Bakery Cafe may periodically change, encompass various factors, including demographic characteristics, traffic patterns, parking availability, neighborhood character, competition, proximity to other businesses (including existing Corner Bakery Cafe locations), commercial characteristics (like purchase price and rental obligations), and the site's physical attributes and layout.
Corner Bakery Cafe will then advise the franchisee in writing whether the proposed site has been approved or rejected within 30 days of receiving the completed Site Application. This decision is made at Corner Bakery Cafe's sole discretion. Once a site is approved and the franchisee completes the required due diligence, Corner Bakery Cafe will engage an architect or planner at the franchisee's expense to prepare a Design Development Plan. The franchisee is then responsible for hiring an Approved Architect to develop Plans and Specifications for building permit submittal based on the Design Development Plan, as well as an Approved Branding Vendor to create a Branding Plan for the cafe's exterior. These final Plans and Specifications and Branding Plan must be submitted to Corner Bakery Cafe for approval before construction can begin.
If a franchisee has a Development Agreement for multiple Corner Bakery Cafe locations, they must comply with the site selection criteria in place at the time each site is submitted. Corner Bakery Cafe may reject a site if the franchisee fails to demonstrate sufficient financial capabilities to properly develop, operate, and maintain the proposed franchised cafe, based on standards consistent with those used for establishing cafes in comparable market areas. The franchisee must provide financial statements and other information regarding themselves (or their affiliates) and the development and operation of the proposed cafe, including investment and financing plans.