DoorDash
d at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub, DoorDash and other p
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Buffalo's Cafe
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing for Buffalo's Cafe is controlled at the corporate level by executives of FAT Brands, including Chief Information Officer Drew Martin. The franchise currently mandates social media management software, with no other named operational tech systems disclosed in the 2025 FDD. With 12 franchised units and an average unit volume of $2.35 million, the addressable market is small but concentrated, offering a focused entry point for vendors targeting quick-service restaurant chains.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
12
12 franchised
Unit growth YoY
-7.692%
vs prior filing
AUV
$2.35M
Item 19, 2024
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$857K–$2.93M
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.
Grubhub
be filled at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub, DoorDash and
Postmates
erritory to be filled at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub,
Uber Eats
Protected Territory to be filled at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
20 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 2 explicit no's; 12 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?
YesItem 11
We and our affiliates do have independent access to the information generated and stored in your Information System.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates will derive revenue (to include rebates and other material consideration) on account of these purchases and leases and may impose mark-ups on products and equipment sold to and/or leased by franchisees.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
There is presently no advertising council, however there is an advisory board of franchisees with whom we hold occasional meetings, typically annually, during which franchisees who volunteer to attend, provide their thoughts, suggestions and viewpoints, but all decisions regarding advertising are in our discretion.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates will derive revenue (to include rebates and other material consideration) on account of these purchases and leases and may impose mark-ups on products and equipment sold to and/or leased by franchisees.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you wish to procure any items from a supplier other than ones we have previously approved or designated, you must deliver written notice seeking approval of the supplier.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
assign to us all of your business telephone numbers.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
Conduct, as we deem advisable, inspections of the Restaurant and evaluations of the products sold and services rendered in and from the Restaurant.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 14
We may modify or supplement the Manuals upon notice or delivery to you.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Once you have located a potential site, you must submit to us for our review a real estate site evaluation package, including demographic and other information regarding the proposed site and neighboring areas.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
You must spend a minimum of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) on a Grand Opening promotion for your Restaurant which must take place no earlier than thirty (30) days prior to the initial opening of your Restaurant and no later than thirty (30) days following such initial opening.
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
In addition to contributing to the BNAF, you must also spend 2% of net sales each calendar quarter on local advertising and promotion of your Restaurant.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 8
You must accept MasterCard, Visa and American Express as well as such other credit and debit cards and other non-cash systems, loyalty and gift cards as we specify, and you must obtain, replace and modify all equipment required to implement the same in accordance with our policies and procedures.
Operations
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all furnishings (including indoor and outdoor furniture), fixtures, decor, signage, equipment, computer hardware, software, uniforms, merchandise, flat screen television monitors, menu board system, in-store music system and sound system, inventory and other supplies, food products, ingredients…
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
At our request, we may require you to pay Royalty and BNAF payments due by electronic funds transfer or any similar arrangement, in which case you must sign the documents that are necessary for us to implement the payment system.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 8
You must accept MasterCard, Visa and American Express as well as such other credit and debit cards and other non-cash systems, loyalty and gift cards as we specify, and you must obtain, replace and modify all equipment required to implement the same in accordance with our policies and procedures.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 11
Throughout the term of the Franchise Agreement, you must maintain in the employ of the Restaurant at least one General Manager who has completed the Manager Training Program or has been certified pursuant to BFCI’s General Manager Certification Program, and at least one Assistant Manager who has completed the Manager…
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 16
You must use certain uniforms approved by us.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase or lease and maintain, at your own expense, only those brands, types, makes and/or models of Information Systems computer hardware and software, communications hardware and software, point of sale hardware and software, kitchen display systems, kiosk(s), data and/or databases and any other items…
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We and our affiliates do have independent access to the information generated and stored in your Information System.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We will provide additional training at your expense, including any travel, lodging and meals and other related costs, if you make a reasonable written request for this training.
The filing answers no to 2 questions
- 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 regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
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 Buffalo's Cafe
Buffalo's Cafe is a quick-service restaurant concept with 12 franchised units, all operated by single-unit franchisees. The brand reported an average unit volume of $2,350,384 in its 2025 FDD, with a 6% royalty rate and a 15-year initial franchise term. Year-over-year unit growth declined by 7.69%, signaling a contracting footprint. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is 12 locations concentrated primarily in California (26 units mapped), with smaller clusters in Washington, Arizona, Texas, and Pennsylvania. The operator base consists of 43 mapped operators, all in the 1-unit band—no multi-unit operators exist in the system. This single-unit dominance means any technology adoption would likely require strong corporate endorsement, as individual franchisees lack the scale to drive independent purchasing decisions.
Who controls software purchasing
Technology purchasing authority sits at the corporate level with FAT Brands executives. The 2025 FDD lists Taylor Wiederhorn as President and CEO of BFCI and Co-CEO of FAT, Thayer Wiederhorn as COO of FAT, Kenneth J. Kuick as CFO of BFCI and Co-CEO of FAT, and Drew Martin as Chief Information Officer of FAT. For software vendors, Drew Martin is the most direct point of contact as CIO, overseeing technology strategy and procurement. The presence of a named CIO indicates a centralized IT function, meaning pitches should target the corporate office rather than individual franchisees. The Wiederhorn family's deep involvement across multiple C-suite roles suggests a tightly held decision-making culture where major software investments likely require buy-in from the CEO and CFO as well.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2025 FDD explicitly mandates social media management software, though it does not name a specific vendor. No other technology systems—POS, back-office, inventory, labor scheduling, or loyalty platforms—are disclosed as mandated or recommended in the document. This absence could mean the franchise leaves operational tech choices to individual franchisees, or it may simply reflect limited disclosure. Vendors offering social media management tools have a clear entry point, as compliance with this mandate is required. For all other software categories, the lack of named systems represents both an opportunity and a risk: there may be no incumbent to displace, but also no established procurement path.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, leaving the procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—undisclosed. Renewal terms offer a potential window for technology evaluation: franchisees seeking a 10-year renewal must sign the then-current franchise agreement, which may contain materially different terms, pay a renewal fee of 40% of the then-current initial fees, sign a general release, and renovate their premises. These renovation and re-agreement triggers could create natural inflection points for introducing new software. However, with only 12 units and recent contraction, the volume of renewal-driven opportunities will be low. Vendors should monitor unit counts and any signs of system revitalization under FAT Brands' leadership.
How to read the Buffalo's Cafe FDD
The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document is the definitive source for understanding Buffalo's Cafe's obligations, fees, and technology requirements. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executive team), Item 11 (mandated systems), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), and Item 17 (renewal conditions). The embedded PDF viewer below provides full access to the document. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize your outreach.
Questions vendors ask
Buffalo's Cafe, answered from the filing
Drew Martin, Chief Information Officer of FAT Brands, is the named technology executive. The President/CEO Taylor Wiederhorn and CFO Kenneth Kuick also hold key decision-making roles at the corporate level.
The 2025 FDD mandates social media management software but does not name a specific POS or other operational technology system. No other mandated vendors are disclosed.
There are 12 total units, all franchised. No company-owned units are reported. The system has contracted by 7.7% year-over-year.
The FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the designated vs. approved supplier model is not publicly disclosed. Vendors should inquire directly about purchasing requirements.
Initial franchise terms are 15 years, with 10-year renewals requiring a new agreement and potential renovation. With recent unit decline, replacement or upgrade cycles may be limited but renewal-triggered tech evaluations are possible.
The 2025 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the embedded PDF viewer below for full details on fees, obligations, and the franchisor's technology requirements.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Buffalo's Cafe files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
43 operators run 43 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit43
Top states by locations
| CA | 26 |
|---|---|
| WA | 3 |
| AZ | 3 |
| TX | 3 |
| PA | 2 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Buffalo's Cafe
strategic_multibrand of FAT Brands.
Sibling brands
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.