Is there a cure period for breaches of the Southern Steer Multi-Unit Development Agreement?
Southern_Steer Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
er the health or well-being of any of the customers or guests of the Multi-Unit Developer's or Controlled Entity's Southern Steer Businesses;
(h) the Multi-Unit Developer, its Owners, Operating Principal, Guarantors or a Controlled Entity breaches any provision, term or condition of this Agreement or any Franchise Agreement or other agreement between Multi-Unit Developer or Controlled Entity and Franchisor or its Affiliates and fails to cure such default within the period prescribed in such Franchise Agreement or other agreement;
(i) any check or EFT issued by the Multi-Unit Developer or Controlled Entity is dishonored because of insufficient funds (except where the check is dishonored because of bank error or an error in bookkeeping or accounting) or closed accounts more than three times during the Term of this Agreement;
(j) the Multi-Unit Developer, its Owners, Operating Principal, Guarantors or any Controlled Entity are involved in any act or conduct which materially impairs the goodwill associated with "Southern Steer Butcher," any other of the Marks or with the System and the Multi-Unit Developer, its Owners, Operating Principal, Guarantors or any Controlled Entity fails to correct the breach within 24 hours after receipt of written notice of the breach from the Franchisor;
(k) the Multi-Unit Developer or any Controlled Entity engages in any unauthorized business or practice or sells any unauthorized product or service under the Franchisor's Marks or under a name or mark which is confusingly similar to the Franchisor's Marks;
(l) any Franchise Agreement between the Multi-Unit Developer (or a Controlled Entity) and the Franchisor is terminated by either party for any reason;
Source: Item 5 — and 7 of the FDD, Section 3.1 of the Franchise Agreement and Section 4.1 of the Multi-Unit Development Agreement are hereby amended to state that payment of the initial franchise fee and development fee will be deferred until We have satisfied Our pre-opening obligations, and You have commenced business operations. (FDD pages 168–290)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Southern Steer Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisor can terminate the Multi-Unit Development Agreement if the franchisee breaches the agreement. However, in many cases, the franchisee has an opportunity to cure the default within a specified period.
Specifically, if a franchisee breaches any provision of the agreement other than those listed in Section 8.1, Southern Steer will provide a 30-day written notice to cure the default. If the franchisee fails to cure the default within this 30-day period, the agreement will terminate without further notice.
However, there are exceptions. If the Multi-Unit Developer, its Owners, Operating Principal, Guarantors or any Controlled Entity are involved in any act or conduct which materially impairs the goodwill associated with "Southern Steer Butcher," any other of the Marks or with the System, the franchisee has only 24 hours after receipt of written notice to correct the breach. Also, if the Multi-Unit Developer, its Owners, Operating Principal, Guarantors, Controlled Entity or any individual breaches the non-compete and confidentiality covenants set out in the Franchise Agreement or the Non-Competition and Non-Disclosure Agreement, this constitutes an immediate breach without opportunity to cure.