Aloha
Mandatorymust be sent using, Movio, the currently required email service provider. Gift Cards: All venues must use the Ceridian SVS gift card system that integrates with both the Vista and Aloha POS systems. T
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is controlled at the corporate level, with Executive Chairman Tim League listed as the key executive in the 2023 FDD. The franchise operates 38 total units—21 franchised and 17 company-owned—and mandates a tightly integrated tech stack including NCR Voyix Aloha POS, Movio, and Vista. For vendors selling into this brand, the addressable market is concentrated but highly standardized, with technology decisions flowing from the franchisor's HQ in Texas.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
38
21 franchised
Unit growth YoY
0%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2022
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
0.5%
national + local
Initial fee
$125K
per unit
Investment range
$4.52M–$16.11M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
Claims
from the filing
Ongoing fee load
What the operator pays every month
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
5.5%of gross sales (FY2023)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
11 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
Facebook
Mandatoryecommunication without our express written consent. We have sole discretion and control over advertising and use of the Marks on social media outlets, including without limitation Facebook, Twitter, I
HotSchedules
Mandatorythese services, which may change from time to time. Currently, the only approved vendor for these services is HotSchedules. As of the date of this Disclosure Document, the fee for HotSchedules is $144
Instagram
Mandatoryout our express written consent. We have sole discretion and control over advertising and use of the Marks on social media outlets, including without limitation Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube o
Movio
Mandatoryparticipate in our loyalty program and pay any ancillary costs of participating in the program. There are currently two pieces of software that allow our loyalty program to work - Movio and Vista loya
NCR
Mandatorya Handheld Software 10-20 Tablets $7,000 - $14,000 Aloha Handheld Tablets Apple iPad Mini with cc swiper / rugged $1000 each case and replacement plans Aloha Hardware and Software NCR technician insta
NCR Aloha
Mandatoryeeded backups and recovery from potential issues, all Venues are required to have in place a server that expressly runs an immutable backup of the primary applications (Vista POS, NCR Aloha, Aloha IOS
SVS
Mandatoryxisting member transactions. Email campaigns and newsletters must be sent using, Movio, the currently required email service provider. Gift Cards: All venues must use the Ceridian SVS gift card system
Tripleseat
Mandatoryvent management software. You are required to pay the then current fee charged by our then current vendor for this service. Currently, the only approved vendor for this service is TripleSeat. As of th
Twitter
Mandatorytion without our express written consent. We have sole discretion and control over advertising and use of the Marks on social media outlets, including without limitation Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
YouTube
Mandatoryress written consent. We have sole discretion and control over advertising and use of the Marks on social media outlets, including without limitation Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or other sim
Ecolab
or other beverage agreements in the future to receive direct monies or benefits from our beverage suppliers based on franchisee purchases. In 2022, we also recognized rebates from EcoLab and Welch Adv
Mirus
Aloha Configuration Center, which pushes menu, tender, comp and price changes down from an enterprise level, with current monthly costs of approximately $125 per month per venue. Mirus, a third-party
Vantiv
quired and must remain active until otherwise notified by us: Internet Ticketing: All drafthouse.com venue, web and mobile sales channels, including Fandango and Atom (3rd party). Vantiv is the curren
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
23 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 8 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may require that Franchisee install and maintain systems that permit Franchisor to access and retrieve electronically any information stored in Franchisee’s POS System and computer systems, including, without limitation, information concerning Franchised Venue Gross Sales and online ticket sales, at the…
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall also submit to Franchisor, for review or auditing, such other forms, reports, records, information and data as Franchisor may reasonably designate, in the form and at the times and places reasonably required by Franchisor, upon request and as specified from time to time in writing, including in the…
How the franchisor buys
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 20
The ADC Franchise Association, Inc. was formed in 2019 for the purpose of offering educational, networking, and training programs for its members as it deems necessary and advisable in order to provide its members with opportunities to enhance their communication with, and participation in, their respective franchise…
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
431466Item 8
During 2022, we received $ $431,466 from franchisee purchases, which was less than 1% of our total revenue of $157,269,144 during 2022 (roughly .3%).
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We may receive rebates from our designated or approved suppliers.
Item 8 gives this proportion in one of two shapes: separate percentages for establishing the business and for operating it, or one figure covering "establishing and operating" together. Where they are separate, answer with the operating percentage; where the passage gives only the combined figure, answer with that. What percentage of the franchisee's purchases must come from designated or approved suppliers?
50Item 8
We estimate that these purchases and leases (excluding real estate leases) will be approximately 10% of your cost to establish the Venue and 50% to 60% of your costs to operate the Venue.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you wish to purchase, lease or use any products or other items that we permit to be sourced from an unapproved supplier, you must submit a written request for approval, or must request the supplier to do so.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee, at the option of Franchisor, shall assign to Franchisor all rights to the telephone numbers of the Franchised Venue and any related Yellow Pages trademark listing or other business listings and execute all forms and documents required by Franchisor and any telephone company at any time to transfer such…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must implement and maintain an approved Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance program for the Franchised Venue.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
As we reasonably determine necessary, visits to, and evaluations of, the Venue and the products and services provided there to ensure that the high standards of quality, appearance and service of the System are maintained.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may from time to time revise the contents of the Operations Digital Library and other manuals and materials created or approved for use in the operation of the Operations Digital Library Venue.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
No other site may be used for the Location of the Franchised Venue unless it is consented to in writing by Franchisor, in its sole discretion.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
You must conduct a “Grand Opening Advertising Program” for the Venue during the period commencing sixty days prior to opening the Venue and up to ninety days after the opening date of the Venue, spending at least $150,000.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 11
Each Venue must participate in our loyalty program and pay any ancillary costs of participating in the program.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If a Cooperative has been established for an advertising coverage area where your Venue is located when the Franchise Agreement is signed, or if any Cooperative is established during the term of the Franchise Agreement, you must sign all documents we request and become a member of the Cooperative according to the…
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
If available in your market, you must use US Foods Service as your broadline food distributor and you must follow our Product Specification Manual when purchasing from US Foods Service, including as to proprietary, approved and generic products.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase the Vista and Aloha point of sale system software and related hardware from a source we designate (see Item 11).
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
Amounts due will be withdrawn by EFT from your designated bank account.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 16
You must participate in any gift certificate or card program or online ticket purchasing program we establish.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
You must retain at all times a General Manager, Assistant Managers, Kitchen Manager, Bar Manager, AV- Presentation Manager and the other personnel that are needed to operate and manage the Venue.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall install and maintain the point of sale systems (the “POS System”) and computer hardware and software Franchisor requires for the operation of the Franchised Venue
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
You must allow Corporate IT to have immediate and secure access to your network, point-of-sale, databases, and other computing systems, and there is no contractual limitation on our access or our use of any information we may obtain from that access.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We reserve the right to charge a reasonable fee for the additional training programs and seminars that we provide on an optional basis.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?Franchise agreement
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Franchise agreement
Who buys here
The buyer at this brand
The decision-maker a vendor sells to at this scale, and the gaps they’re paid to close, derived from our data by segment and unit count, not a guess.
The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
- 41.9% of quick service brands mandate no POS system, leaving a massive blind spot in your target list.By instantly identifying the 452 brands with no POS mandate, you replace weeks of manual FDD research and focus your pipeline on high-fit displacement targets, cutting customer acquisition cost by over 60%.
- 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
- Only 17 out of 1,079 quick service brands mandate a CRM, yet unit counts and AUVs prove these are high-value accounts.Instead of spending 40+ hours manually combing FDDs to find CRM-needy brands, FranCloud delivers the 17 mandate-holders and their financials in one query, letting your team close deals 10x faster.
The vendor opportunity at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema operates 38 locations across the United States, split between 21 franchised and 17 company-owned units. The brand is headquartered in Texas and files its FDD as an independently owned entity with no parent company on file. For software vendors, the total addressable market is small but tightly controlled: every location runs on a mandated stack, meaning a single corporate decision can unlock deployment across the entire system. The 2023 FDD does not disclose average unit volume, so vendors must size the opportunity based on unit count and the brand's premium dine-in cinema positioning.
Who controls software purchasing
Executive Chairman Tim League is the sole executive named in the FDD's Item 1. While no CIO, CTO, or VP of IT is listed, the concentration of mandated technology and the corporate ownership of nearly half the units point to centralized purchasing authority at the HQ level. Vendors should expect to engage senior operations or technology leadership in Texas. The absence of a named IT buyer in the FDD means initial outreach may need to route through the executive office or the operations team that oversees the mandated Vista and NCR Aloha environments.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2023 FDD mandates a specific set of systems. On the point-of-sale side, Aloha by NCR Voyix is required, including the Aloha POS and Aloha IOS Server. For film operations and customer engagement, Movio is mandated alongside Vista, which also powers the Vista loyalty program. An Operations Dashboard rounds out the required stack. This is a closed, prescriptive environment: any new software must either integrate with or replace components of this existing ecosystem. Vendors offering complementary capabilities—such as kitchen display systems, labor scheduling, or advanced analytics—should be prepared to demonstrate compatibility with NCR Voyix and Vista.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the formal purchasing model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly disclosed. However, the renewal terms in Item 17 provide a clear window for vendor engagement. Franchisees must give between 6 and 12 months' notice to renew, sign a 5-year renewal agreement, and bring equipment and premises up to current standards. The initial franchise term is 10 years. These timelines create natural inflection points where operators and the franchisor may evaluate new technology. Vendors should monitor franchise agreement cycles and be ready to engage well in advance of renewal windows.
How to read the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema FDD
The full 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document is available below. Item 11 details the mandated technology systems, while Item 17 outlines renewal conditions and timing. Item 1 identifies the executive leadership. Because the FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement table, vendors will need to infer the purchasing process from the franchisor's control over the tech stack and the centralized ownership structure. For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize outreach based on real FDD data.
Questions vendors ask
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, answered from the filing
The 2023 FDD lists Tim League as Executive Chairman, indicating corporate-level control over purchasing. No additional IT or procurement executives are named in the filing.
The FDD mandates Aloha by NCR Voyix (POS and IOS Server), Movio, Vista, Vista loyalty, and an Operations Dashboard. All are required for franchisees.
There are 38 total units: 21 franchised and 17 company-owned. Year-over-year unit growth was not disclosed in the 2023 FDD.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the designated-supplier versus approved-supplier model is not publicly disclosed in the most recent filing.
Renewal requires 6–12 months' notice, a 5-year term, and signing the then-current franchise agreement. Initial terms run 10 years, creating natural re-evaluation points.
The 2023 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. You can view the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below for detailed Item 11 and Item 17 disclosures.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Alamo Drafthouse Cinema files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
28 operators run 28 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit28
Top states by locations
| TX | 13 |
|---|---|
| VA | 5 |
| NE | 2 |
| MO | 2 |
| IN | 1 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
single_brand_holdco of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.