After termination or expiration, is a Fat Shack franchisee required to stop identifying itself as a franchisee of Fat Shack?
Fat_Shack Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisee is obligated upon termination or expiration of this Agreement to immediately do all of the following:
- a.
Pay all Royalties, Marketing and Promotion Fees, Noncompliance Service Charges, and other amounts then owed FSI or any of its affiliates pursuant to this Agreement, or otherwise.
- b.
Cease to identify itself as a FAT SHACK franchisee or use any Marks, trade secrets, signs, symbols, devices, trade names, or other materials of FSI.
- c.
Cease to identify the Restaurant Location as being, or having been, associated with FSI, and immediately cease operating any business at the Restaurant Location.
- d.
Cease using any proprietary mark of FSI or any mark in any way associated with the Marks and Licensed Methods and deliver to FSI all signs, sign-faces, advertising materials, forms and other materials bearing any of the Marks or otherwise identified with FSI.
- e.
Deliver to FSI the Operations Manual and all other information, documents and copies thereof which are proprietary to FSI.
- f.
Promptly take such action as may be required to cancel all fictitious or assumed names or equivalent registrations relating to its use of any Marks which are under the exclusive control of FSI or, at the option of FSI, assign the same to FSI.
- Notify the telephone company and all telephone directory publishers, domain name registration companies, and social media website operators, of the termination or expiration of Franchisee's right to use any telephone number, domain name, social media websites or accounts, and any regular, classified or other telephone directory listings associated with any Mark and complete all forms, and provide other necessary notification to authorize the transfer thereof to FSI or its designee.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 53–223)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Fat Shack's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee is obligated to cease identifying as a Fat Shack franchisee upon termination or expiration of the franchise agreement. This includes refraining from using any of Fat Shack's marks, trade secrets, signs, symbols, devices, trade names, or other proprietary materials. This obligation is a standard practice in franchising to protect the brand's identity and goodwill.
Furthermore, the franchisee must cease identifying the restaurant location as being associated with Fat Shack and immediately stop operating any business at that location. The franchisee is also required to deliver to Fat Shack the Operations Manual and all other proprietary information and documents. This ensures that confidential business practices and knowledge are not used to compete against the Fat Shack system after the franchise relationship ends.
In addition to these restrictions, the franchisee must take action to cancel any assumed names or registrations related to the use of Fat Shack's marks and notify relevant entities, such as telephone companies, directory publishers, domain name registration companies, and social media platforms, about the termination or expiration of their right to use any associated telephone numbers, domain names, or social media accounts. This comprehensive approach aims to completely sever the franchisee's association with the Fat Shack brand, preventing any potential confusion or misuse of the brand's assets.