Bonefish Grill

The vendor opportunity at Bonefish Grill

Bonefish Grill is a full-service seafood restaurant chain headquartered in Florida and owned by Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. According to the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system consists of 166 total units, of which 162 are company-owned and only 4 are franchised. Year-over-year unit growth is negative 33.3%, reflecting a contracting footprint. For software vendors, the addressable market is exceptionally small: just 4 franchised locations, with at least 1 unit mapped in Florida. No average unit volume is disclosed in the FDD. The royalty rate is 5.0%, and the initial franchise term runs 20 years.

Who controls software purchasing

All strategic purchasing decisions, including software, are controlled at the parent-company level. The 2026 FDD lists the following executives in Item 1: John Bettin, Senior Vice President and President of Bonefish Grill; Eric Yeagle, Vice President of Operations; Eric Christel, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Kelly Lefferts, Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary; and Annette Rodriguez, Senior Vice President, Chief Development and Franchising Officer. For a software vendor, the most relevant contacts are likely Eric Christel (CFO) for budget authority and Eric Yeagle (VP of Operations) for operational technology needs. There are no multi-unit franchisees; the single mapped operator runs just 1 location.

Mandated and current tech stack

The 2026 FDD does not capture any mandated or recommended technology systems, POS platforms, or software vendors. This absence of Item 11 tech mandates means franchisees are not required to use a specific point-of-sale, back-office, or operational software stack. For vendors, this represents either a greenfield opportunity or a signal that technology decisions are handled entirely at the corporate level without franchisee-level mandates. Without a disclosed tech stack, vendors should approach discovery conversations prepared to map the existing corporate infrastructure.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD contains no procurement extract, so the brand’s supplier model—whether designated, approved, or open—is not publicly disclosed. Renewal conditions, detailed in Item 17, require timely notice, a full renovation to then-current standards, full compliance with all obligations during the term, proof of right to possess the location, and satisfaction of current qualification and training requirements. Successful renewal grants a successive 20-year term. With only 4 franchised units and a shrinking system, renewal-driven software evaluation windows will be rare. Vendors should focus on corporate-level relationship building rather than franchisee-level sales cycles.

How to read the Bonefish Grill FDD

The 2026 Bonefish Grill FDD is embedded below for full-text review. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executives and ownership), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, though not populated here), Item 11 (tech mandates, also not populated), and Item 17 (renewal and transfer triggers). Because the franchised unit count is so low, the FDD is most useful for understanding the corporate structure and identifying the right decision-makers rather than sizing a large franchisee market. For a ranked target list of franchise systems with stronger addressable bases, reach out to FranCloud.