What is Marble Slab Creamery's process for designating the Site Selection Area for a franchise?
Marble_Slab_Creamery Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
taurant Agreement – Section 6.2).
2. Franchise Agreement
- (a) We will designate your Site Selection Area.
- (b). Once you have located a potential site, you must submit to us for our review a real estate site evaluation package, including demographic and other information regarding the proposed site and neighboring areas. After receiving the real estate site evaluation package, we will review the information to determine whether the proposed site is acceptable. If we have not notified you within 30 days of receiving the information (or 10 days if we request additional information) that the site is accepted, then such site will be deemed rejected. If we accept the site, we will notify you of our acceptance, which will be conditioned on you entering into a final lease or purchase agreement
(and any other conditions we may impose). You are solely responsible for locating and selecting a suitable site for the Restaurant. You will be the tenant under your lease. We will not own or lease the premises for you. We will conduct an on-site evaluation if we consider it necessary and appropriate as part of our evaluation of your submittal package. If we determine that on-site evaluation is necessary and appropriate (on our own initiative), we will provide the evaluations (up to 2 days unless we agree otherwise) at our own expense, although we reserve the right to charge you an additional fee for this service. Generally, we consider the following factors in accepting a restaurant location: high foot traffic, visibility, complementary tenant mix in the shopping center, demographically dense primary retail trade populace, reasonable rent, adequate square footage, proper exposure within the demographic trade area and a retail-oriented shopping center. If we accept the proposed site and you obtain it, we will insert a description of the specific location on Franchise Agreement. Your Restaurant must be open for business within 12 months after we sign the Franchise Agreement. If you fail to meet this deadline for any reason, including your failure to propose a site that we accept, and we do not agree to extend the deadline, we will have the right to terminate your Franchise Agreement. If you sign Multi-Unit Restaurant Agreement, we will approve the locations of future Restaurants based on our then-current standards in each applicable Franchise Agreement.
(c) You must use a real estate broker that we designate or otherwise approve to assist you to locate the premises for your Restaurant and assist you to negotiate a lease or purchase of the premises for your Restaurant. Before you make a binding commitment to purchase, lease, or sublease a site, we must approve in writing the proposed lease or purchase agreement or any letter of intent between you and the third-party seller or lessor. If you lease the site, unless we waive the requirement in writing, you must arrange for the signing of the Lease Rider in the form that is attached to the Franchise Agreement. You must enter into, and provide us with a fully executed copy of, the purchase agreement and/or site lease and Lease Rider (unless we waive the Lease Rider requirement in writing), as applicable, within the earlier to occur of: (i) 10 days after full execution of the site lease or purchase agreement, as applicable; or (ii) 240 days after the Effective Date of the Franchise Agreement (the "Site Securitization Deadline"). (Franchise Agreement - Section 5.1(b)).
If you do not enter into and provide us with a copy of the purchase agreement or Site Lease, as applicable, in accordance with the requirements of the Franchise Agreement on or before the Site Securitization Deadline, so long as you are otherwise in compliance with your obligations under the Franchise Agreement and so long as you are using best efforts to secure a Site and enter into a purchase or lease agreement for the Site, we will grant you one 60-day extension to the Site Securitization Deadline (the "Site Securitization Extension") in exchange for your payment of a $5,000 extension fee (the "60-Day Extension Fee"). The 60-day Extension Fee shall be due and payable to us immediately upon the expiration of the Site Securitization Deadline and we shall have the right to automatically deduct the 60-Day Extension Fee from your account via electronic funds transfer.
We will review your proposed lease or real estate purchase agreement, as applicable, to determine whether it meets our minimum standards and specifications at the time of acceptance. You must reimburse us up to a maximum of $2,500. Our review and acceptance of your lease should not be construed as any express or implied representation or warranty that an accepted lease or purchase agreement complies with applicable law or represents a transaction that is fair or is in your best interest.
(d) We will make available to you at no charge a set of prototype plans and specifications (not for construction) for the Restaurant and for the exterior and interior design and
layout. We will provide a list of approved vendors and specifications for equipment, signs, fixtures, and inventory (and the vendors will deliver these items and provide installation, if applicable). We will review your final plans, which we must approve before you begin permitting and construction of your Restaurant. (Franchise Agreement - Section 4.3)
(e) We anticipate that no later than 4-6 weeks before your opening, we will train you and any additional attendees in the day to day management of your Restaurant. You must attend and successfully complete the training program in order for you to be approved for restaurant openings.
The training program is 4 to 10 days in duration.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 53–62)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Marble Slab Creamery's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisor designates the Site Selection Area for both single and multi-unit franchise agreements. For a standard franchise agreement, Marble Slab Creamery designates the Site Selection Area. The franchisee is responsible for locating and selecting a suitable site and must submit a real estate site evaluation package to Marble Slab Creamery for review. Marble Slab Creamery will then review the information to determine if the proposed site is acceptable.
For multi-unit agreements, Marble Slab Creamery specifies the development area, which may be on a "Non-Exclusive" or "Protected Rights" basis. The franchisee must use a real estate broker that Marble Slab Creamery designates or approves to locate premises and negotiate the lease or purchase. The franchisee must also obtain a Site Analysis from a vendor designated or approved by Marble Slab Creamery. Marble Slab Creamery will make two trips to the Development Area to evaluate proposed locations at no additional charge, but the franchisee must reimburse Marble Slab Creamery for subsequent trips.
In both cases, if Marble Slab Creamery does not notify the franchisee within 30 days of receiving the site evaluation package (or 10 days if additional information is requested), the site is deemed rejected. If Marble Slab Creamery accepts the site, it will notify the franchisee, conditional on the franchisee entering into a final lease or purchase agreement. Marble Slab Creamery generally considers factors such as high foot traffic, visibility, tenant mix, demographic density, reasonable rent, adequate square footage, and proper exposure when evaluating a location. The specific location will be described in the Franchise Agreement if the proposed site is accepted and obtained.