Who is responsible for identifying and selecting a site for a Cream shop?
Cream Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
t any location in the world, including in the Protected Territory.
2. SITE SELECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF SHOP.
A. SITE SELECTION.
It is your responsibility to identify and select an appropriate site for your Shop. If you have not yet located a site for the Premises as of the Effective Date, then you must obtain our approval of a site for your Premises within 120 days of the Effective Date. Unless you have our prior written approval to search for a proposed site outside of the site selection area designated on Attachment B (the "Site Selection Area"), all site reports that you submit to us must be for a site within your Site Selection Area. You acknowledge and agree that you will receive no territorial protection of any kind in the Site Selection Area, or any other geographic area, other than your Protected Territory. You may not relocate your Shop to a location other than the Premises without our prior approval. If we approve the relocation of your Shop, you must pay a relocation fee of $7,500, plus reimbursement of our out-of-pocket expenses processing the change, including legal fees.
You agree to send us all of the information we require for the proposed site. We will make all determinations about whether to approve or disapprove a site based on our then-current criteria, which may change periodically. We are not obligated to visit any site you propose for your Shop in person, though we may elect to do so. We will not charge a fee in connection with the first such site evaluation visit we elect to conduct; however, if we require, or if you request, any additional site evaluation visits (with respect to the same site or alternative sites), you must pay us $2,000 per site evaluation visit, plus reimburse the out-of-pocket costs and expenses we and our representatives incur, including travel, food, accommodations, and third-party fees. If we recommend, approve, or give you information regarding a site for the Premises, that is not a representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied, of its suitability for a Jeni's Ice Creams Scoop Shop or any other purpose. Our recommendation and/or approval of any site indicates only that the site meets our then-current minimum criteria which have been established for our own purposes and are not intended to be relied on by you as an indicator of success. You agree that you are not relying on our site approval for your benefit. You further acknowledge that you have been advised to conduct your own indep
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 61–192)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cream's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisee is responsible for identifying and selecting a site for their Cream shop. Cream requires the franchisee to obtain approval of the site within 120 days of the effective date of the franchise agreement. Unless Cream provides prior written approval to search outside of the designated site selection area, all site reports submitted by the franchisee must be for a site within that area.
The document specifies that the franchisee must provide all required information about the proposed site to Cream. Cream will then determine whether to approve or disapprove the site based on its current criteria, which may change. Cream is not obligated to visit the proposed site in person, but may choose to do so. The first site evaluation visit by Cream is free; however, subsequent visits, whether requested by Cream or the franchisee, will incur a fee of $2,000 per visit, plus reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses.
Cream emphasizes that any recommendation, approval, or information provided regarding a site should not be considered a representation or warranty of its suitability for a Cream shop or any other purpose. The franchisee is advised to conduct their own independent investigation before selecting a site for Cream's approval. Cream is not responsible if the selected site fails to meet the franchisee's expectations, even if Cream recommended or approved it. This indicates that while Cream provides guidance and approval, the ultimate responsibility and risk associated with site selection lie with the franchisee.