After termination, expiration, transfer, or cancellation of the Southern Steer agreement, what action must the franchisee immediately take regarding the operation of the Southern Steer business?
Southern_Steer Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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;
Source: Item 22 — ITEM. 22 CONTRACTS (FDD pages 61–168)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Southern Steer's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee faces several immediate obligations upon termination, expiration, transfer, or cancellation of their franchise agreement. The franchisee must immediately cease operating the Southern Steer business. This means all Southern Steer-related activities must stop as soon as the agreement ends.
In addition to ceasing operations, the franchisee must also take steps to remove all visible signs of the Southern Steer brand. This includes immediately stopping all marketing and advertising that uses Southern Steer's trademarks. The franchisee must also stop using any materials that display the brand's trademarks. Furthermore, the franchisee is required to cancel any assumed names or registrations related to the Southern Steer business. They must also notify all callers requesting information about the former Southern Steer business that such inquiries should be made to another phone number as specified by Franchisor.
Moreover, within a defined timeframe, the franchisee is obligated to return all confidential and proprietary materials to Southern Steer. Specifically, the franchisee must return the Brand Manual, menus, advertising materials, and any other printed materials related to the Southern Steer business. This also includes confidential information, trade secrets, trademarks, and the system's components, such as letterheads, signs, stationery, training materials, forms, and invoices, along with all copies. The franchisee has five business days after termination, expiration, transfer, or cancellation of the Agreement to pay all outstanding Fees to the Franchisor, its Affiliates and any Approved Suppliers and Designated Suppliers and also execute the release in a form specified by Franchisor within five business days of Franchisor providing such release to Franchisee.