From the filings
Barney Brown is a small, independently owned quick-service restaurant brand based in New York with just 2 company-owned units as of its 2025 FDD. For software vendors, the addressable market is extremely limited, and purchasing decisions are concentrated at the HQ level with co-founders and operations leadership. No mandated technology systems are disclosed in the current FDD, meaning the tech stack is likely ad hoc or vendor-agnostic at this stage.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
8%of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 9 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
within 30 days of the end of each calendar month Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor monthly financial statements and other reports related to the operations of the Franchised business
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We are currently designated as an approved supplier of the information management and point of sale system.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may designate a supplier, including ourselves or our affiliates, as the exclusive supplier for the System.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, we did not earn any revenue from suppliers from franchisee purchases of source restricted products or services.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates may receive rebates, payments and other material benefits from suppliers based on your purchases and we reserve the right to institute and expand rebate programs in the future.
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?
90Item 8
We estimate that your purchase of goods and services from suppliers according to our specifications, including your purchase of goods or services from our designated exclusive suppliers, to represent approximately 95% of your total purchases and leases in establishing the Franchised Business and approximately 90% of…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We may charge you a fee equal to the costs and expenses that we incur in reviewing and evaluating an alternate supplier, product, and/or service requested by you.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to purchase or lease a source restricted item from a supplier that has not been previously approved or designated by us in writing, you must send us a written request for approval and submit additional information, samples, and testing data that we may request.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
In the event of the termination of this Agreement, for any reason, that the accounts related to all telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business and all rights in and to the telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business, shall, at Franchisor’s election, be transferred to Franchisor.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right at any and all times during business hours, throughout the terms of this Agree and without prior notice to Franchisee, to inspect Franchisee’s Sandwich Shop.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
At all times, we reserve the right to supplement, modify and update the Manuals.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Although you are responsible for selecting a site for your Sandwich Shop Location you must obtain our approval of your Sandwich Shop Location.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
You may not use any websites, web-based media or digital media unless expressly approved by us in writing.
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
On an on-going calendar year quarterly basis, you must spend not less than 2% of your quarterly Gross Sales on the local marketing of your Sandwich Shop.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
If Franchisee’s Sandwich Shop or Designated Territory is located within the geographic area of an Advertising Cooperative, franchisee must participate in and contribute to the Advertising Cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase the System Supplies, as designated by us, from us, our affiliates, and/or our designated suppliers.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You may only use those products, supplies, equipment, technology systems, and services that we authorize and designate in writing.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
Credit Card Processing – You must use our designated supplier and vendor for credit card processing which may be integrated with the point of sale system that we designate.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 8
You must use our designated supplier and vendor for the ability to access and use online, point of sale integrated, web based, and/or app based, ordering, customer rewards, and/or gift card systems.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
At all times, your Sandwich Shop must be managed and supervised on-site by either a Managing Owner or Operating Manager.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
you must ensure that all employees wear and maintain the proper uniforms with our approved System branded apparel and uniforms including, but not limited to, the apparel and uniforms comprising System Supplies.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase, license and use the computer, point of sale, business management, and ordering systems that we designate.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
At all times, Franchisee shall exclusively use the Business Management Systems designated by Franchisor, in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business Judgment, and as may be modified, supplemented or replaced by Franchisor from time to time.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to assess Franchisee reasonable charges for such training.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 6
If we offer a franchisee annual conference in a given year you will be required to attend the conference on the dates and at the location that we designate.
Who buys here
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.
Barney Brown is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in New York. According to its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system consists of just 2 units, both company-owned. No franchised locations are reported, and year-over-year unit growth is not disclosed. For a software vendor, the immediate addressable market is therefore 2 locations — a footprint that suggests the brand is in a very early stage of development. The royalty rate is set at 6.0%, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years, though no franchisees currently operate under that agreement.
Because the system is entirely company-owned, any software purchasing flows through the corporate entity. There is no distributed network of franchisees making independent technology decisions. Vendors should approach this as a single-account, HQ-level sale rather than a multi-unit rollout.
The 2025 FDD lists five executives in Item 1, all of whom are co-founders or partners. The named individuals are Matthew Baer (Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer), David Bell (Co-Founder & Managing Director), Nickolas Lawro (Director of Operations), Richard Maharaj (Co-Founder & Partner), and Robert Spierenburg (Co-Founder & Partner). In a 2-unit company, the buying center is almost certainly these five people, with operational technology decisions likely influenced by the Director of Operations and final approval resting with the CEO or Managing Director.
No dedicated IT, procurement, or technology leadership role is disclosed. Vendors pitching software should expect to engage directly with the co-founder group and be prepared to demonstrate value in a lean, hands-on operating environment.
The 2025 FDD does not capture any mandated or recommended technology systems. There are no named POS providers, no required back-office platforms, and no specified online ordering or delivery integrations. This absence of a mandated tech stack means the brand is either using off-the-shelf solutions chosen on a per-location basis or has not yet formalized its technology requirements in the franchise disclosure.
For a vendor, this represents a blank slate. Any pitch should assume no incumbent vendor lock-in and should focus on the operational pain points of a small, company-owned quick-service operation: point-of-sale, inventory management, labor scheduling, and potentially a lightweight loyalty or CRM tool.
Item 8 of the FDD, which typically outlines procurement obligations and designated suppliers, was not extracted in our corpus. The procurement model — whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open — is therefore not publicly known. In practice, a 2-unit company-owned brand likely makes purchasing decisions on an as-needed basis without a formal RFP cycle.
Item 17 provides the renewal framework: franchisees (if any existed) must give 180 days’ written notice, sign the then-current Franchise Agreement, pay a renewal fee, remodel to current standards, and secure continued occupancy rights. The renewal term is 10 years. With no franchised units in operation, these renewal windows are not currently actionable. Software vendors should instead monitor any announcement of franchising activity, which would create a new class of buyer and potentially trigger system-wide technology standardization.
The full 2025 Barney Brown Franchise Disclosure Document is available below. It contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise offering, including the franchise agreement, fee schedule, and territory rights. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 1 (the executives), Item 8 (procurement obligations, though not captured here), and Item 11 (the franchisor’s obligations regarding systems and training). Because the brand has no franchised units, the FDD serves primarily as a pre-sale disclosure document rather than a reflection of an active franchise network. Review it to understand the contractual framework that would apply if the brand begins selling franchises.
For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize based on unit counts, tech mandates, and decision-maker access.
Questions vendors ask
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FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Barney Brown files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
No franchisee network yet. Barney Brown’s latest FDD reports no franchised locations.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.