After signing the Dog Haus Franchise Agreement, what is the franchisee required to do regarding site selection?
Dog_Haus Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
mote Kitchen no later than 30 days after you sign the Franchise Agreement and the Remote Kitchen Addendum to Franchise Agreement. (Remote Kitchen Addendum to Franchise Agreement, Section 2.2).
Site Selection/Lease/Purchase of Real Estate
If you do not already have a location when you sign your Franchise Agreement, you must purchase or lease a site for your Franchised Restaurant promptly after you sign your Franchise Agreement. You must submit all demographic and other information regarding the proposed site and neighboring areas that we may require. If you will be operating a Fast Casual Restaurant or Biergarten, you must submit your proposed lease to us for approval to allow us at least 15 days to confirm that the required provisions in Section 5.2 of the Franchise Agreement have been included in the lease, and/or that you and your landlord have executed an Option to Obtain Lease Assignment in the form we specify. (Franchise Agreement, Section 5.2). You must provide us with a fully signed copy of your lease within 180 days of signing your Franchise Agreement. Our acceptance of your lease is based solely on our own interests. If we accept the proposed site, we will notify you of our preliminary acceptance of the site within about 30 days (or 15 days after you provide any supplemental information we request). Your lease must not (i) obligate us in any manner, or (ii) contain any provision inconsistent with your Franchise Agreement. In addition, you and your Landlord must enter into our Option to Obtain Lease Assignment and/or your lease must provide for the following: (i) the Lease may not be amended, assigned or sublet without our prior written consent; (ii) we have the right (but not the obligation) to succeed to your rights under the Lease if you fail to exercise any option to renew, and/or extend the term of the Lease; (iii) if you default under the Lease, the Landlord must notify us in writing at least 15 days prior to the termination or non-renewal of the Lease; (iv) we have an option to assume the Lease upon the termination or expiration of the Lease for any reason by giving written notice of the election to you and the Landlord; (v) you have the unrestricted right, without the Landlord's consent, to assign or sublet the Franchised Location to us, or any franchisee or licensee approved by us; and (vi) we have the right to enter the Franchised Location to remove all of the Dog Haus Marks from the Franchised Location and modify the décor of the Franchised
Location so that it no longer resembles, in whole or in part, a Franchised Restaurant if you fail to do so. If you request our consent for you to execute a Lease containing modified versions of the provisions in Section 5.2 of the Franchise Agreement, or to execute a modified version of the Option to Obtain Lease Assignment, then, whether or not we ultimately grant such consent, you must reimburse us upon demand for our reasonable attorneys' fees incurred to review, revise and/or negotiate any changes made to those provisions and/or to the Option to Obtain Lease Assignment. (Franchise Agreement, Section 5.2). If you are purchasing the Franchised Location, you must submit the contract for purchase and sale to us for approval at least 15 days before you sign it, and provide a fully signed copy of the contract to us within 15 days following closing. You may not relocate your Franchised Restaurant without our prior written consent. (Franchise Agreement, Section 5.5).
If you execute the Franchise Agreement and the Remote Kitchen Addendum to Franchise Agreement, your Remote Kitchen must be operated from an Approved Supplier's Facility. (Remote Kitchen Addendum to Franchise Agreement, Section 2.2).
When you sign each Franchise Agreement under an Area Development Agreement, you must locate sites for your Dog Haus Restaurants. We must approve the site and our then-current standards for Dog Haus Restaurant sites will apply. After you have located a site, you must submit it to us for our review and request us to consider and approve the site. Following receipt of our acceptance of a site, you must negotiate a lease or purchase agreement for the site and submit a copy to us. (Area Development Agreement, Section 5.2). We will then give you execution copies of our then-current Franchise Agreement for the proposed location. You must return the signed Franchise Agreement to us within 30 days after you receive the execution copies of the Franchise Agreement. (Area Development Agreement, Section 5.2).
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, MARKETING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS, AND TRAINING (FDD pages 38–53)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Dog Haus's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee does not have a location when signing the Franchise Agreement, they must promptly purchase or lease a site for their Franchised Restaurant. The franchisee is responsible for submitting all required demographic and other information regarding the proposed site and neighboring areas.
For Fast Casual Restaurants or Biergartens, the franchisee must submit the proposed lease for approval, allowing Dog Haus at least 15 days to confirm that the required provisions in Section 5.2 of the Franchise Agreement have been included in the lease, and/or that the franchisee and landlord have executed an Option to Obtain Lease Assignment in the form Dog Haus specifies. A fully signed copy of the lease must be provided within 180 days of signing the Franchise Agreement. Dog Haus's acceptance of the lease is based solely on their own interests.
The lease must not obligate Dog Haus in any manner or contain any provision inconsistent with the Franchise Agreement. The franchisee and landlord must enter into Dog Haus’s Option to Obtain Lease Assignment, and the lease must include specific provisions, such as the lease not being amended, assigned, or sublet without Dog Haus’s prior written consent, and Dog Haus having the right to succeed to the franchisee’s rights under the lease if they fail to exercise any option to renew or extend the term. Dog Haus also has the right to enter the Franchised Location to remove all of the Dog Haus Marks from the Franchised Location and modify the décor of the Franchised Location so that it no longer resembles, in whole or in part, a Franchised Restaurant if the franchisee fails to do so.
If the franchisee is purchasing the Franchised Location, they must submit the contract for purchase and sale to Dog Haus for approval at least 15 days before signing it, and provide a fully signed copy of the contract within 15 days following closing. The franchisee may not relocate their Franchised Restaurant without Dog Haus’s prior written consent. When signing each Franchise Agreement under an Area Development Agreement, the franchisee must locate sites for their Dog Haus Restaurants, and Dog Haus must approve the site, applying their then-current standards for Dog Haus Restaurant sites. After locating a site, the franchisee must submit it to Dog Haus for review and approval, and upon acceptance, negotiate a lease or purchase agreement for the site and submit a copy to Dog Haus. The signed Franchise Agreement must be returned within 30 days after receiving the execution copies of the Franchise Agreement. The franchisee may not enter into any Lease for a site unless and until Dog Haus has approved the site and the Lease in writing.