Does Crave allow competition from other franchisees, company-owned outlets, or other distribution channels within a franchisee's territory?
Crave Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ld be limited to a mileage radius around a central point of up to five miles or up to ten city blocks.
You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets that we own, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control.
During the term of the Franchise Agreement, we will not establish or operate, nor license any other person to establish or operate, a Restaurant or Food Truck in the Designated Territory, except as may be permitted under the Franchise Agreement and those exceptions are described below. There are no
circumstances under which the Designated Territory may be altered before your Franchise Agreement expires or is terminated.
Your Restaurant may not be relocated, and your Food Truck may not relocate to another municipality or operate outside the Designated Territory, without our prior written consent. If, during the term of the Franchise Agreement, you wish to relocate your Restaurant or operate your Food Truck in a different municipality, or if the Restaurant is damaged or destroyed and cannot be repaired within 60 days, you must submit to us in writing the materials we require to consider your request, including information concerning the proposed new location for the Restaurant or new municipality for the Food Truck. You must also meet certain other requirements, such as being in compliance with the Franchise Agreement, the new location meets our then-current requirements for a Crave Restaurant or the new municipality meets our then-current requirements for a Crave Food Truck, and the new location (for a Restaurant) is located within your Designated Territory, and you must sign our then-current form of Franchise Agreement. If we permit you to relocate, you will not pay a new initial franchise fee when you sign the new Franchise Agreement, but you must pay our relocation fee.
Nothing in the Franchise Agreement will prohibit us from: (1) operating and/or franchising others to operate restaurants or food trucks identified in whole or in part by the Proprietary Marks and/or utilizing the System in the Designated Territory that are located in gas stations or convenience stores; transportation facilities, including airports, train stations, subways and rail and bus stations; military bases and government offices; sports facilities, including stadiums and arenas; amusement parks, zoos and convention centers; car and truck rest stops and travel centers; educational facilities; recreational theme parks; hospitals; hotels; business or industrial foodservice venues; venues in which foodservice is or may be provided by a master concessionaire or contract foodservice provider; Indian reservations; casinos; or any similar captive market location not reasonably available to you (a "Non-Traditional Site"); (2) awarding national, regional or local licenses to third parties to sell products under the Proprietary Marks in foodservice facilities primarily identified by the third party's trademark; (3) merchandising and distributing products identified by the Proprietary Marks in the Designated Territory through any method or channel of distribution other than through the operation of a restaurant or food truck, including distribution of products (including any proprietary products) through grocery stores, club stores and similar stores; (4) selling and distributing products identified by the Proprietary Marks in the Designated Territory to restaurants other than Restaurants identified by the Proprietary Marks, regardless of whether the restaurants are licensed to use the Proprietary Marks in connection with their retail sales or not; (5) selling products and services through other channels of distribution, including the internet, wholesale, mail order and catalog; (6) developing and/or owning other franchise systems for the same or similar products and services using trade names and trademarks other than the Proprietary Marks; and (7) purchasing, being purchased by, merging or combining with businesses that we deem to offer direct competition to Crave businesses. We are not required to pay you any consideration if we exercise any right specified above in the Designated Territory.
According to a license agreement with Bud's Place Franchising, LLC, Crave menu items may be offered and sold in all Bud's Place company-owned and franchised outlets, wherever they are located.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 42–46)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Crave's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees may face competition from various sources within their designated territory. Specifically, Crave does not grant exclusive territories, meaning franchisees may encounter competition from other franchisees, company-owned outlets, or alternative distribution channels controlled by Crave. This includes the sale of products through the internet, catalogs, grocery stores, club stores, specialty food stores, telemarketing, or other direct marketing sales.
Crave retains the right to operate or franchise others to operate restaurants or food trucks at non-traditional sites such as gas stations, convenience stores, transportation facilities, military bases, sports facilities, amusement parks, zoos, convention centers, educational facilities, hospitals, hotels, and casinos, even if these are located within a franchisee's designated territory. Furthermore, Crave can award licenses to third parties to sell products under its trademarks in foodservice facilities primarily identified by the third party's trademark. Crave also has the right to sell and distribute products under its trademarks to restaurants other than Crave restaurants, regardless of whether those restaurants are licensed to use the trademarks.
Crave or its affiliates will fulfill all orders placed through the retail portion of their website, and franchisees are not entitled to any portion of the profits, even if the customer's order originates from or is delivered to an address within their designated territory. Additionally, Crave retains the right to develop other franchise systems for similar products and services using different trade names and trademarks and can merge with businesses that directly compete with Crave businesses.
For multi-unit development agreements, Crave and its affiliates will not operate or grant franchises for restaurants or food trucks within the development area, provided the franchisee is in full compliance with the agreement. However, this provision can be terminated if the franchisee fails to comply with the terms of the agreement. Crave also retains the right to develop restaurants or operate food trucks at non-traditional sites within the development area, further limiting the exclusivity of the territory.