What actions are Southern Steer franchisees required to take after termination, expiration, transfer, or cancellation of the Franchise Agreement?
Southern_Steer Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
sor. Should such other franchise agreement cease to be valid, binding and in full force and effect because of a Default then Franchisor, may, at its option terminate this Agreement and likewise should this Agreement cease to be valid binding and in full force and effect because of a Default, Franchisor, may at its option terminate the other franchise agreement. In the event that there is more than one franchisee, or if the franchisee should consist of more than one legal entity, the franchisee's liability hereunder will be both joint and several.
21. FRANCHISEE'S OBLIGATIONS UPON TERMINATION OR EXPIRATION
21.1. Required Actions. After any termination, expiration, Transfer or cancellation of this Agreement for any reason whatsoever, Franchisee, its Owners, Operating Principal, Guarantor(s) agree:
- (a) Immediately cease operating the Southern Steer Business;
- (b) within five business days after termination, expiration, Transfer or cancellation of this Agreement pay all outstanding Fees to the Franchisor, its Affiliates and any Approved Suppliers and Designated Suppliers;
- (c) immediately return to the Franchisor the Brand Manual, menus, advertising materials and all other printed materials pertaining to the Southern Steer Business, Confidential Information, Trade Secrets, Marks and the System including but not limited to, letterhead, signs, stationery, training materials, forms and invoices and all copies thereof;
- (d) immediately notify all callers requesting information about Franchisee's former Southern Steer Business that such inquiries should be made to another phone number as specified by Franchisor;
- (e) immediately take such action as is necessary to remove all references to Franchisee's Southern Steer Business, System, Confidential Information, Trade Secrets, URLs that contain the Marks or any portion thereof or confusingly similar thereto or other Franchisor's or its Affiliates proprietary information from all telephone listings, listing agencies, websites, social media, email service providers, Internet, answering services, and any other organizations where Franchisee has used the above items;
(f) immediately cease all marketing or advertising which includes any of the Marks and cease using any and all items or materials which bear or include any of the Marks;
(g) immediately cancel all fictitious or assumed names or equivalent registrations relating to Franchisee's Southern Steer Business;
(h) within five business days of Franchisor's notice, execute additional documentation required by Franchisor to effectuate this Section 21.1;
(i) execute the release in a form specified by Franchisor within five business days of Franchisor providing such release to Franchisee;
(j) comply with all other applicable provisions of this Agreement, including all other post-term obligations which expressly or by their nature survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement; and
- (k) alter the Franchised Location in accordance with Section 21.2.
21.2. Alteration of Franchised Location. If this Agreement expires or is terminated for any reason or if the Franchised Location ever ceases to be used for the Franchisee's Southern Steer Business, then within 30 days after the date of the expiration or termination of this Agreement or the date on which the Franchised Location is no longer used for the Franchisee's Southern Steer Business (whichever is applicable), the Franchisee will, at its expense, alter, modify and change both the exterior and interior appearance of the building and the Franchised Location so that it will be clearly distinguished from the standard appearance of a Southern Steer Business. At a minimum, such changes and modifications to the Franchised Location will include, but not be limited to: (a) repainting and, where applicable, recovering both the exterior and interior walls of the Franchised Location with entirely different colors, including removing any distinctive colors and designs from the walls; (b) removing all furniture, fixtures and other decor items associated with Southern Steer Businesses and replacing them with other decor items not of the general type and appearance customarily used in Southern Steer Businesses; (c) removing all exterior and interior Southern Steer signs; and (d) immediately discontinuing use of the approved wall decor items and window decals, and refraining from using any items which may be confusingly similar to those used in Southern Steer Businesses. Franchisee agrees that Franchisor or a designated agent may enter upon the Premises at any time to make such changes at Franchisee's sole risk and expense and without liability for trespass.
21.3. Prohibited Activity. After any termination, expiration, Transfer or cancellation of this Agreement for any reason whatsoever, Franchisee, its Owners, Operating Principal, Guarantor(s) agree:
- (a) not to directly or indirectly at any time or in any manner identify or do anything to indicate that they (except in resumes or applications in pursuit of employment) or any business are or were a current or former franchisee or are or were otherwise associated with Franchisor;
- (b) not to use any of the System, Confidential Information, Trade Secrets, Brand Manual, Website, Marks, Franchisor or its Affiliates proprietary materials or colorable imitation thereof or anything confusingly similar thereto;
(c) not use any indicia of Franchisor or of the Southern Steer Business in any manner for any purpose;
(d) not, at any time or in any manner, disparage or take any action detrimental or disruptive to Franchisor, its Affiliates, owners, officers, directors, members, or any other Southern Steer franchisees, licensees or their products or services; and
(e) not conduct or promote any business under any name or in any manner that might tend to give the general public the impression that the Franchisee is continuing to operate as a Southern Steer franchisee.
21.4. Telephone Listings; Social Media Accounts.
Source: Item 22 — ITEM. 22 CONTRACTS (FDD pages 61–168)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Southern Steer Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees face several obligations upon termination, expiration, transfer, or cancellation of their Franchise Agreement. These include immediately ceasing operation of the Southern Steer Business and paying all outstanding fees to Southern Steer, its affiliates, and any approved or designated suppliers within five business days. Franchisees must also return the Brand Manual, menus, advertising materials, and all other printed materials related to the Southern Steer Business, including confidential information, trade secrets, marks, and the system. This encompasses letterhead, signs, stationery, training materials, forms, and invoices, along with all copies. Franchisees must also notify callers that inquiries should be directed to a phone number specified by Southern Steer.
Additionally, franchisees are required to remove all references to their former Southern Steer Business from telephone listings, websites, social media, and any other online or offline platforms where they have used the marks or proprietary information. They must cease all marketing or advertising that includes any of the marks and discontinue using any materials bearing the marks. Franchisees must also cancel all fictitious or assumed names related to the Southern Steer Business. Within five business days of receiving notice from Southern Steer, franchisees must execute additional documentation required by Southern Steer and sign a release in a form specified by Southern Steer.
Moreover, franchisees must alter the franchised location within 30 days so that it is clearly distinguished from the standard appearance of a Southern Steer Business. This includes repainting the interior and exterior with different colors, removing all furniture, fixtures, and decor associated with Southern Steer, and discontinuing the use of approved wall decor items and window decals. Franchisees also agree not to identify themselves as a former franchisee or associate with Southern Steer, and not to disparage Southern Steer or its franchisees. Southern Steer has the right to notify telephone companies and social media companies of the termination and to transfer all telephone numbers and social media accounts related to the Southern Steer Business to Southern Steer or its assignee.