Thanx
development, photography, video production, and content creation for system-wide use; (3) Digital Ecosystem & CRM; (4) Website, SEO/SEM, email marketing, loyalty platforms (e.g., Thanx), SMS, app deve
From the filings
+5.882% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Bar Louie
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Bar Louie is controlled at the corporate level, led by Senior Vice President of Information Technology Roberta Frierson. The chain currently mandates a specific point-of-sale system, Zendesk, a data management platform, and SharePoint. With 66 total units generating an average unit volume of $3,090,933, the addressable market is concentrated but high-value for vendors targeting corporate-owned hospitality groups.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
40
18 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+5.882%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2024
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
4.5%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$1.07M–$3.95M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
No 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.
9.5%of gross sales (FY2026)
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.
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
32 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
We have the right to specify the accounting software and a common chart of accounts, and, if we do so, you agree to use that software and chart of accounts (and require your bookkeeper and accountant to do so) in preparing and submitting your financial statements to us.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
You must provide us with unlimited access to each point-of-sale (POS) system and any other computer used in your business by modem or other high-speed connection during normal business hours.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
In addition, no later than the tenth (10th) day of each month (or, if we elect, other periodic time period) during the term of this Agreement after the opening of the Franchised Business, you agree to submit to us, in a format acceptable to us (or, at our election, in a form that we have specified): (a) a fiscal…
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Currently we are the designated supplier of the data management platform license.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may add to or delete items from the Approved Vendors List and Approved Supplies List, and such changes will be documented in the Manual.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
We currently do not derive revenue from any other purchases by our franchisees, but we may do so in the future.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
During our fiscal year of September 29, 2025 through December 31, 2025, we received approximately $22,499.88 in rebates and similar consideration from certain suppliers based on April 30, 2026 Bar Louie FDDv1 21 products those suppliers sold to Bar Louie 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?
35Item 8
We anticipate that the cost of products and services which you must purchase from designated or approved suppliers or following our specifications on an ongoing basis will be approximately 35% to 45% of your monthly operating costs.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 6
You or the proposed supplier or vendor must pay the reasonable cost of the inspection and evaluation and the actual cost of any testing.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you would like to sell or use any product, material or supply or purchase any products from a supplier not on either of these lists, you must notify us and may need to submit samples and other information to us so that we can make an informed decision as to whether such product or supplier meets our standards.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
In addition, you will cease use of all telephone numbers and any domain names, websites, e-mail addresses, and any other print and online identifiers, whether or not authorized by us, that you have while operating the Franchised Business, and must promptly execute such documents or take such steps necessary to remove…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 1
You must follow the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards and comply with applicable privacy laws relating to customer credit card transactions.
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to participate in such programs as we require, and promptly pay the then-current charges of the evaluation service.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
We will make periodic visits to the Restaurant to inspect aspects of the operation and management of the Restaurant, and may prepare reports about these visits outlining any suggested changes or improvements and detailing any defaults which are evident as a result of any such visit.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 16
We may change the approved product offerings and any related merchandising and promotional materials at any time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 12
The franchise is granted for one location approved by us.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesFranchise agreement
Unless we have otherwise approved in writing, you agree not to establish or develop or permit any other party to establish or develop a Digital Site or Mobile Application relating in any manner whatsoever to the Franchised Business or referring to the Proprietary Marks.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 11
You must spend a minimum of $10,000 for grand opening marketing and promotional programs in conjunction with the Franchised Business’s initial grand opening, pursuant to a grand opening marketing plan that you develop and that we approve in writing (Franchise Agreement, Section 13.7).
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 6
After the first 30 days you are in business, you are required to spend each calendar month on local advertising and promotion, an amount equal to up to 3% of your Gross Sales; but currently we only require you to spend 1% on local advertising.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to offer for sale, and to honor for purchases by customers, all gift cards and other affinity or convenience programs that we may periodically institute (including loyalty programs that we or a third party vendor operate, as well as mobile payment and/or customer affinity applications); and you agree to do…
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
If a Regional Fund has been established for your area when you start operations under this Agreement, then you must immediately become a member of such Regional Fund.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase certain food and drink products from a designated supplier.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase and use only such equipment, fixtures and furnishings as we may designate or approve.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree not to use any Payment Vendor for which we have not given you our prior written approval or as to which we have revoked our earlier approval.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
All royalty fees, advertising (including Marketing Fund) contributions, monthly Technology Fee, amounts due for your purchases from us and other amounts which you owe to us will be paid through electronic funds transfer (using the ACH network).
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to offer for sale, and to honor for purchases by customers, all gift cards and other affinity or convenience programs that we may periodically institute
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
For each Restaurant, you must employ at least one on-property full-time General Manager, one full-time Kitchen Manager, one full-time Bar Manager, one full-time front of house Manager, and other managers as may be necessary to oversee day-to-day Restaurant operations.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 16
We may prescribe standard uniforms and attire for all Restaurant personnel.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
We will provide you specifications for the computer software and hardware of the point-of-sale (POS) system you must use.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesFranchise agreement
You also agree that we will have the right to control your POS System and remotely upload and download data to that POS System.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
Additionally, we periodically may require that previously-trained and experienced franchisees, managers, and other employees attend and successfully complete refresher training programs or seminars to be conducted at a location as we may designate, or on-line.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree that your Managing Owner and/or General Manager will attend the conventions and meetings that we may periodically require and to pay a reasonable fee (if we charge a fee) for each person who is required to attend
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 Bar Louie
Bar Louie operates 66 locations across the United States, with a heavy corporate-owned tilt: 48 units are company-operated and only 18 are franchised. The chain posted an average unit volume of $3,090,933 in the most recent filing, signaling healthy per-location revenue that can support technology investment. However, year-over-year unit growth declined by 10%, suggesting a consolidating footprint. For software vendors, the opportunity lies in penetrating a single, centralized buying center rather than chasing a fragmented franchisee base. The operator footprint confirms this: 36 mapped operators run exactly one unit each, with zero multi-unit franchisees on file. The top states by location count are Texas (6), Virginia (5), Missouri (3), Michigan (3), and California (3).
Who controls software purchasing
Technology decisions at Bar Louie are firmly centralized at the headquarters level. The FDD lists Roberta Frierson as Senior Vice President of Information Technology, making her the primary buyer for any software vendor. She reports into a leadership team that includes CEO Brian K. Wright, COO Michael J. Mrlik, II, and CFO Gregory Ruedy. In a corporate-dominated system like this, a vendor's path to a deal runs through Frierson's IT organization, with financial sign-off likely involving the CFO. There is no parent company on file; Bar Louie appears independently owned, so no external holding company influences procurement.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document mandates four technology systems for all franchisees: a point-of-sale system, Zendesk, a data management platform, and Bar Louie SharePoint. The specific POS vendor is not named in the FDD, which is common when the franchisor reserves the right to designate a system without locking in a single provider in the disclosure document. Zendesk's presence as a mandated system indicates a formalized customer-service or ticketing workflow, likely managed at the corporate level. The data management platform and SharePoint suggest centralized reporting and document management requirements. Vendors selling adjacent solutions—inventory, labor scheduling, or financial reporting—should map their integrations against this mandated stack.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD, which typically outlines designated or approved supplier requirements, contains no extract in the current filing. This means the formal procurement model is not publicly disclosed. However, the renewal conditions in Item 17 provide a clear trigger for technology refresh cycles. Franchisees seeking a 10-year renewal must upgrade computer hardware and software to conform with the franchisor's then-current standards, sign a release, pay a renewal fee, and comply with all current qualification and training requirements. The renewal agreement may also contain materially different terms than the original contract. For vendors, this creates a predictable window: every decade, each franchised location faces a mandatory tech upgrade. With 18 franchised units and 10-year terms, roughly one to two locations come up for renewal annually, though the corporate side can adopt new software at any time based on HQ priorities.
How to read the Bar Louie FDD
The full 2024 Bar Louie Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. For software vendors, the most actionable sections are Item 11 (franchisor's obligations), which lists the mandated technology systems, and Item 17 (renewal, termination, transfer), which spells out the upgrade requirements that force tech refresh cycles. Item 1 identifies the executives who control purchasing, and Item 20 provides the outlet and franchisee counts used to size the addressable market. The document is filed with state franchise regulators and represents the most current public disclosure available. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Bar Louie, answered from the filing
Roberta Frierson, Senior Vice President of Information Technology, is the key technology decision-maker, supported by CEO Brian K. Wright and COO Michael J. Mrlik, II.
The 2024 FDD mandates a point-of-sale system, Zendesk, a data management platform, and Bar Louie SharePoint. The specific POS vendor is not named in the filing.
There are 66 total units, consisting of 48 company-owned and 18 franchised locations, with a footprint concentrated in Texas, Virginia, and Missouri.
The procurement model is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. Item 8 contains no extract, so designated or approved supplier requirements are unknown.
Franchise agreements run for 10-year terms and require hardware and software upgrades to current standards upon renewal, creating periodic refresh opportunities.
The 2024 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review 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 Bar Louie files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
36 operators run 36 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit36
Top states by locations
| TX | 6 |
|---|---|
| VA | 5 |
| MO | 3 |
| MI | 3 |
| CA | 3 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Bar Louie
unknown of blh acquisition.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.