How does Hawaiian Bros Island Grill define the term 'Development Area'?
Hawaiian_Bros_Island_Grill Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
We call the geographic boundaries in which you may locate your Restaurant the "Development Area". Your Development Area will be specified in the Development Agreement and will depend on the availability of contiguous markets, our long range development plans, your financial and operational resources, population and market conditions, and other demographic features of the locale in which you want to locate your Restaurant. Your Development Area is typically described in terms of municipal or county boundaries, but it may be defined as a specified trade area or sector within a municipality. Our designation of a particular Development Area is not an assurance that there are a sufficient number of suitable sites for locations in the Development Area for you to meet your development obligations. The responsibility to locate and prepare a sufficient number of suitable sites is solely yours and we have no obligation to approve sites that do not meet our criteria so that you can meet your development obligations.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 49–53)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Hawaiian Bros Island Grill's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Development Area refers to the geographic boundaries in which a franchisee may locate their Restaurant. The Development Area will be specified in the Development Agreement and depends on factors such as the availability of contiguous markets, Hawaiian Bros Island Grill's long-range development plans, the franchisee's financial and operational resources, population and market conditions, and other demographic features of the desired location. The Development Area is typically defined in terms of municipal or county boundaries but may also be defined as a specified trade area or sector within a municipality.
However, the designation of a particular Development Area does not guarantee that there are enough suitable sites for locations to meet the franchisee's development obligations. The franchisee is solely responsible for locating and preparing a sufficient number of suitable sites, and Hawaiian Bros Island Grill is not obligated to approve sites that do not meet their criteria. Furthermore, the Development Area excludes any and all "non-traditional venues" physically located within the Development Area, including hospitals, airports, schools, convention centers, amusement parks, and other mass gathering locations or events. This means that franchisees cannot operate at non-traditional venues, and Hawaiian Bros Island Grill faces no restrictions on its activities in or at those non-traditional venues.
It is important to note that the Development Agreement only governs development rights and grants no operating rights, and it is not the equivalent of a franchise for the Development Area. A franchisee's failure to adhere to the development schedule outlined in the Development Agreement will be considered an event of default. If a franchisee defaults under their Development Agreement, Hawaiian Bros Island Grill may eliminate protected development rights in the Development Area, decrease the number of Restaurants to be developed, reduce the size of the Development Area, and/or terminate all rights under the Development Agreement.