When is the Development Fee for a Crisp & Green Area Development Agreement payable?

According to Crisp & Green's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Development Fee is payable in full when you sign the Area Development Agreement. The amount of the Development Fee is calculated by multiplying $54,900 by the number of Crisp & Green Franchised Restaurants you commit to open under the Area Development Agreement.

Notably, the Development Fee is considered fully earned and nonrefundable upon payment. This means that once the Area Development Agreement is signed and the fee is paid, Crisp & Green has no obligation to return any portion of the fee, even if the franchisee fails to open the agreed-upon number of restaurants.

However, franchisees will not pay an additional initial franchise fee for any of the Franchised Restaurants they are required to develop under the Area Development Agreement. This offsets the initial investment to some extent, as the standard initial franchise fee is $64,500. This is a common practice in franchising, as the development fee secures the rights to a larger territory and multiple units, while the initial franchise fee typically applies to single-unit agreements.