DoorDash
American Kolache restaurants may deliver or cater in unassigned territories. We may also enter into agreements with third-party delivery providers, such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, or DoorDash, and may req
From the filings
+20% units YoYHQ-led decisions
American Kolache
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing decisions at American Kolache are controlled at the headquarters level by a small executive team including President/Treasurer Bart Mantia and VP/Secretary Russell Clark. The brand currently mandates a consumer-facing tech stack built on DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, and major social platforms. With only 9 total units (6 franchised), the addressable market is extremely small, making this a niche target for vendors with hyper-local or emerging-brand strategies.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
9
6 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+20%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$39K
per unit
Investment range
$230K–$345K
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.
8%of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
Facebook
ch we control. Subject to our right to consent, you may be permitted to create a social-media account from which to advertise your Restaurant on the Internet (such as on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, o
Grubhub
and other American Kolache restaurants may deliver or cater in unassigned territories. We may also enter into agreements with third-party delivery providers, such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, or DoorDash, a
Instagram
to our right to consent, you may be permitted to create a social-media account from which to advertise your Restaurant on the Internet (such as on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram). Any such
LinkedIn
e.com, which we control. Subject to our right to consent, you may be permitted to create a social-media account from which to advertise your Restaurant on the Internet (such as on LinkedIn, Facebook,
Twitter
rol. Subject to our right to consent, you may be permitted to create a social-media account from which to advertise your Restaurant on the Internet (such as on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagra
Uber Eats
and other American Kolache restaurants may deliver or cater in unassigned territories. We may also enter into agreements with third-party delivery providers, such as Uber Eats, GrubHub, or DoorDash, a
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 8 explicit no's; 1 question 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?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to all of the data on your computer including but not limited to sales reports by category, department, menu item, inventory, cashier, breakfast, lunch and hour on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You will send us annual income and expense statements within 60 days of the end of your fiscal year.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
At this time, we are the only designated supplier for the spice mix you will use in the preparation of some of your products.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We reserve the right to modify and/or substitute products or suppliers.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
487840Item 8
Our total revenue in 2024 was $487,840 of which $11,320 was from required purchases and leases of products and services by franchisees from us.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We or our Affiliates may receive rebates, commissions and other benefits from suppliers in relation to items purchased by you and other franchisees.
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?
85Item 8
We estimate that the proportion of your required purchases and leases to all purchases and leases by you of products and services in establishing your Restaurant is approximately 30% and that that the proportion of your required purchases and leases to all purchases and leases by you of products and services in…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
However, we may require that samples of or from these proposed alternatives be delivered to us for testing prior to approval and use and you must pay us a reasonable fee based on the costs of the testing, currently set at $750 per alternative item.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
You may propose alternative manufacturers, suppliers or distributors of products used in the operation of the Restaurant.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
hereby assign to us all telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, email addresses, URLs and online and social-media resources and access credentials, where you advertise, publicize, or otherwise make yourself known to customers or the public in the operation of an American Kolache® Restaurant, both now and in the future…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You also are required to comply with our standards for processing electronic payments and all other standards, laws, rules and regulations applicable to electronic payments that may be published from time to time by payment-card companies and applicable to electronic payments including the Payment Card Industry…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
You must permit our representatives or agents and/or the representatives or agents of our Affiliates to enter the business premises with or without notice during regular business hours to inspect the Restaurant and to audit the business operations, including all books and records, for the purpose of making periodic…
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We may modify the Manual from time to time in our discretion, and you agree that from time to time we may reasonably change the System.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You may locate or relocate your Restaurant anywhere within the Assigned Territory, but only with our prior written consent.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
you will spend a minimum of $2,500 on Franchisor-approved grand-opening marketing and promotions
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
Currently, you must spend each month on local marketing and promotion approved by Franchisor, an amount equal to at least of 2% of Gross Sales of the prior month.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
Currently, we require franchisees to use a designated food vendor, POS vendor, music service, and digital signage content provider.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
Currently, we require franchisees to use a designated food vendor, POS vendor, music service, and digital signage content provider.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
Currently, credit cards and gift cards are required services, and you must use the Square POS system for both of these services.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
All of these payments will be made via electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) or such other manner which we may designate from time to time.
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
The Restaurant must conform with the mandatory standards relating to signage, color scheme, appearance, hours of operation, cleanliness, sanitation, menus, methods of preparation, employee uniforms, type of equipment, and decor as designated by us and any other mandatory System standards and requirements.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must obtain and use the point-of-sale (POS) system that we require now or in the future.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to all of the data on your computer including but not limited to sales reports by category, department, menu item, inventory, cashier, breakfast, lunch and hour on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
We may also provide refresher programs to experienced managerial employees.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
We also have the right to require you and any appropriate representative to attend such meetings and conventions at your expense.
The filing answers no to 8 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- 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?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?Franchise agreement
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?Franchise agreement
- Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?Franchise agreement
- Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?Item 8
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 franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.
OwnerCEOPresidentPrincipal
- 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%.
- 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.
- 97.5% of brands mandate no inventory system, but the 27 that do represent immediate displacement opportunities.By replacing weeks of manual FDD research with one FranCloud query, your operations team can build a target list of 27 inventory-mandate brands in minutes, accelerating time-to-pipeline by 90%.
The vendor opportunity at American Kolache
American Kolache is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in Missouri with a total footprint of just 9 units—6 franchised and 3 company-owned. The brand is small but growing, posting 20% year-over-year unit growth in its most recent disclosure. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is limited to these 9 locations, concentrated primarily in Missouri (5 units), with additional outposts in Illinois (2), Kansas (1), and Alabama (1). All 10 mapped operators in the system are single-unit owners; there are no multi-unit franchisees on file. This structure means any software sale must appeal to a headquarters that maintains tight control over a nascent system, rather than to a decentralized network of large franchisees.
Who controls software purchasing
Purchasing authority sits at the top of a lean organization. The 2025 FDD lists three executives in Item 1: Bart Mantia serves as President and Treasurer, Russell Clark is Vice President and Secretary, and Scott Walker holds the role of Operations Manager, Head of Kitchen, and Corporate Trainer. For a vendor pitching operational or financial software, Mantia and Clark are the likely economic buyers, while Walker would be the key champion for any tool touching kitchen operations, training, or store-level execution. There is no CIO, CTO, or dedicated IT role disclosed, which is consistent with a 9-unit system. The absence of a parent company confirms American Kolache is independently owned, so decisions are not filtered through a larger corporate entity.
Mandated and current tech stack
The FDD’s Item 11 disclosures reveal a tech stack focused entirely on customer acquisition and delivery logistics. American Kolache mandates that franchisees use DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats for third-party delivery. Its prescribed digital presence runs through Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Notably absent from the disclosure is any mandated point-of-sale system, back-of-house management platform, inventory tool, or HR/payroll software. This gap may represent an opportunity for vendors who can demonstrate value to a system that has not yet standardized its core operational technology. However, the lack of a mandate also means franchisees may currently be using a patchwork of solutions, and any sale would need to win over both the HQ team and individual operators.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so American Kolache’s procurement model—whether it uses designated suppliers, approved suppliers, or an open purchasing environment—remains undisclosed. Vendors should be prepared to navigate an undefined process. On the renewal side, Item 17 provides a clear trigger: franchise agreements run for an initial term of 5 years, and renewal requires the franchisee to sign a new agreement that “may contain terms and conditions materially different from those in your previous franchise agreement, such as different fee requirements and territorial rights.” This means that at each 5-year renewal window, the franchisor has the contractual leverage to introduce new technology mandates. With the system’s 20% growth rate, new unit openings also represent periodic opportunities to embed software into location launch requirements.
How to read the American Kolache FDD
The full 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document is available below. For software vendors, the most actionable sections are Item 1 (executive team and ownership structure), Item 11 (mandated technology and delivery platforms), and Item 17 (renewal conditions that can reset tech requirements). The document confirms a small, HQ-controlled system with a limited but growing unit count and a tech stack that has not yet matured beyond delivery and social media. When you are ready to move from research to outreach, FranCloud can help you build a ranked target list aligned to your ideal franchise profile.
Questions vendors ask
American Kolache, answered from the filing
The buying center is concentrated in the C-suite. Bart Mantia (President/Treasurer) and Russell Clark (Vice President/Secretary) are the executives on file. Scott Walker (Operations Manager) likely influences operational tools.
The 2025 FDD does not disclose a mandated POS or back-of-house system. The only mandated technology listed relates to third-party delivery (DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats) and social media platforms.
There are 9 total units: 6 franchised and 3 company-owned. The footprint is concentrated in Missouri (5), Illinois (2), Kansas (1), and Alabama (1).
The procurement model is not disclosed in the 2025 FDD. Item 8 contains no extract regarding designated or approved suppliers, leaving the purchasing structure for software and other goods unspecified.
The initial franchise term is 5 years. Renewals require signing a new agreement that may contain materially different terms, including fees. With 20% YoY unit growth, new location openings may create additional sales triggers.
The 2025 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the full document using the embedded PDF viewer below to analyze Item 11 (tech mandates), Item 17 (renewals), and executive disclosures.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment American Kolache files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
10 operators run 10 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit10
Top states by locations
| MO | 5 |
|---|---|
| IL | 2 |
| KS | 1 |
| AL | 1 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated August 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.