Under what conditions can Golden Corral terminate the National Fund?
Golden_Corral Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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- Although Golden Corral intends the National Fund to be of perpetual duration, Golden Corral maintains the right to terminate the National Fund. The National Fund may not be terminated, however, until all monies in the National Fund have been expended for advertising and/or promotional purposes or returned to contributors on the basis of their respective contributions (Franchise Agreement, Section 11.2.7).
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 32–48)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Golden Corral's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Golden Corral maintains the right to terminate the National Fund. However, this termination is conditional. Golden Corral cannot terminate the National Fund until all the money within it has been fully used.
Specifically, all monies in the National Fund must be expended for advertising and/or promotional purposes before termination can occur. Alternatively, if there are remaining funds, they can be returned to the contributors. The return of funds would be based on the proportion of each contributor's respective contributions to the fund.
This condition protects franchisees by ensuring that advertising funds are used as intended or returned to them, preventing Golden Corral from simply dissolving the fund and retaining the remaining balance for other purposes. Prospective franchisees should consider this a safeguard, ensuring transparency and accountability in the handling of advertising contributions.