According to Engineering For Kids, what is an 'Open Area'?
Engineering_For_Kids Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You may directly solicit participants from, and conduct Programs in, areas located outside the Territory if those participants and/or Programs are not located in an Assigned Area (an "Open Area") and the following conditions are met. You may only solicit participants from, and conduct Programs in, Open Areas located within 25 miles of your Territory. If you are conducting a Program in an Open Area (an "Outside Program") and that area later becomes an Assigned Area, then you must immediately give control of the Outside Program to the Engineering For Kids Business franchisee for that Assigned Area. Once an Open Area becomes an Assigned Area, you may no longer directly solicit participants from, or conduct any Programs in, the Assigned Area.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 36–41)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Engineering For Kids' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, an "Open Area" is defined as an area outside of a franchisee's assigned territory. Franchisees are allowed to solicit participants and conduct programs in these Open Areas under specific conditions. These Open Areas must be located within 25 miles of the franchisee's assigned territory.
However, if an Open Area subsequently becomes an Assigned Area, the franchisee who was initially conducting programs there must immediately transfer control of those programs to the Engineering For Kids franchisee who now holds the rights to that Assigned Area. Once an Open Area is assigned to another franchisee, the original franchisee can no longer solicit participants or conduct programs in that area.
This policy creates a balance between allowing franchisees to expand their reach and protecting the territories of other franchisees within the Engineering For Kids system. It is important for prospective franchisees to understand these territorial rules and limitations, as they directly impact where they can market and operate their Engineering For Kids business.