Under what condition is a Marble Slab Creamery franchisee required to employ an Operating Partner?
Marble_Slab_Creamery Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
- 5.24 If Franchisee, individually or together with its Affiliates, at any time operates Multiple Restaurants, then at all times thereafter, Franchisee shall employ and retain an individual (the "Operating Partner"), accepted by Franchisor (and subject to subsequent rejection by Franchisor) who shall be vested with the authority and responsibility for supervising the overall operations of such Multiple Restaurants; if Franchisee (or its Affiliates operate Multiple Restaurants some of which are geographically remote from one another, Franchisor reserves the right to require Franchisee to appoint a separate Operating Partner for each such geographic area).
The Initial Operating Partner is identified in Section 1.1.
The Operating Partner (and each of them if more than one) shall, during the entire period that he or she serves as such, meet the following qualifications: (a) devote full time and best efforts solely to operation of the Multiple Restaurants and to no other business activities; (b) meet Franchisor's educational, experience, financial and such other reasonable criteria for such individual, as set forth in the Manual or otherwise in writing by Franchisor, including satisfactory completion of Franchisor's initial training program; (c) be an individual acceptable to Franchisor, (d) at Franchisor's request, at all times following such request, own such percentage of the Equity and voting rights in Franchisee (and such of its Affiliates as own Restaurants over which the Operating Partner has supervisory responsibilities) as may be required by Franchisor (not to exceed 25% of the issued and outstanding Equity and voting rights of Franchisee, and/or the applicable Affiliate); and (e) reside in the same geographical area as the Multiple Restaurants as to which the Operating Partner has supervisory responsibilities.
The Operating Partner shall be responsible for all actions necessary to ensure that each of the Multiple Restaurants are operated in compliance with this Agreement, all applicable franchise agreements and the Manuals.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 101)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Marble Slab Creamery Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee is required to employ an Operating Partner if they, either individually or jointly with their affiliates, operate multiple Marble Slab Creamery restaurants. This Operating Partner must be approved by Marble Slab Creamery and is subject to ongoing approval. If the multiple restaurants are geographically separated, Marble Slab Creamery can require a separate Operating Partner for each area.
The Operating Partner must dedicate their full time and effort to managing the multiple restaurants and cannot be involved in other business activities. They must also meet Marble Slab Creamery's standards for education, experience, and financial qualifications, including completing the initial training program. Marble Slab Creamery may also require the Operating Partner to own up to 25% of the equity and voting rights in the franchise entity or its affiliates that own the restaurants they supervise. Additionally, the Operating Partner must live in the same geographic area as the restaurants they oversee.
The Operating Partner is responsible for ensuring that all the restaurants comply with the franchise agreement, other applicable agreements, and the operations manual. This requirement ensures that franchisees with multiple locations have dedicated oversight to maintain brand standards and operational consistency across all their Marble Slab Creamery locations. This is a fairly common requirement for franchises to ensure quality control when a franchisee owns multiple locations.