BiteBite
Mandatorya in your POS System at all times. You must also purchase at least one ordering kiosk for your Restaurant. Currently, we have approved the Brink POS System from ParTech, Inc., and Bite Kiosk the cost
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Charleys“Charleys”, “Charleys Philly Steaks”, “Charley’s Grilled Subs”
Quick service restaurantCharleys' corporate office sets the technology bar for its 826-unit system: the FDD requires Brink POS by PAR Technology and the Bite ordering platform at every location, and Item 8 routes equipment purchases through an approved-supplier list. With all 176 mapped operators running a single unit each, software decisions run through the franchisor rather than through large operator groups.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
826
766 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
$845K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1%
national + local
Initial fee
$25K
per unit
Investment range
$203K–$696K
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.
7%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
2 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
Brink POSPAR Technology
Mandatorytem for us to access and retrieve all data in your POS System at all times. You must also purchase at least one ordering kiosk for your Restaurant. Currently, we have approved the Brink POS System fro
DoorDashDoorDash
reported from the franchised Restaurant POS systems, we reduced each franchised Restaurant’s reported Gross Sales by the actual amount of promotional discounts and refunds made by DoorDash, Uber Eats
GrubhubGrubhub
ised Restaurant POS systems, we reduced each franchised Restaurant’s reported Gross Sales by the actual amount of promotional discounts and refunds made by DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub for that fra
Uber EatsUber
rom the franchised Restaurant POS systems, we reduced each franchised Restaurant’s reported Gross Sales by the actual amount of promotional discounts and refunds made by DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhu
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
24 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 6 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
There are no contractual limits on our independent access to the information and data generated by your POS System.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Periodic Reports. You must furnish us:
How the franchisor buys
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 20
We have a Franchise Advisory Council or “FAC”.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 11
From time to time, we may modify the list of approved types, brands, models and/or suppliers.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
We did not earn any revenue in our last fiscal year from required purchases or leases of products or services by us to our franchisees.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
Several suppliers pay rebates or marketing allowances based on purchases by our franchised and company-owned Charleys Restaurants.
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?
95Item 8
We estimate that your purchases from approved suppliers or from suppliers that we designate, and otherwise under our standards, will be approximately 90% of the total purchases and leases of products and services needed to establish the Restaurant, and approximately 95% of the total purchases and leases of products…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We have the right to charge reasonable fees to cover our costs, which we estimate will be between $1,500 and $2,000.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you want to use an alternate supplier, you must make a written request to us for approval.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
notify the telephone company and all telephone directory publishers of the termination or expiration of your right to use any telephone number and any regular, classified or other telephone directory listings associated with any Mark and to authorize transfer of the number to us or at our direction
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
To ensure full operational efficiency and optimum communication capability between and among computer systems, point of sale systems, and accounting systems installed by you, us, and other franchisees, you agree, at your expense, to keep your computer and point of sale systems in good maintenance and repair, and, at…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
We have the right at any time during business hours, and without prior notice to you, to inspect, copy and audit the books, records, tax returns and documents relating to the development, ownership, lease, occupancy or operation of the Restaurant.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We may modify the Operations Manual from time to time to reflect changes in standards, specifications and operating procedures, provided no addition or modification may alter your fundamental status and rights under this Agreement.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
Before you acquire, by lease or purchase, any site for a Restaurant, you must submit to us for acceptance within 180 days after signing the Franchise Agreement (the “Site Selection Period”) a complete site application form for the Charleys Restaurant that you propose to operate and that you in good faith believe to…
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 promote, offer or sell any products or services relating to your Restaurant, nor use any of the Marks, through the Internet, any Web site or any other similar future technological avenues without our consent, which consent may be withheld for any reason or no reason.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
Prior to the opening of your Restaurant, you must purchase a grand opening marketing kit from our approved vendors with an estimated cost ranging from $7,000 to $10,000.
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
If, in any fiscal year, you spend less than the required amount for the Restaurant for authorized LSM expenditures, you must contribute the difference between the required amount and the amount actually spent in that fiscal year to the Marketing Fund within 110 days after demand for payment is sent to you.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
Your Restaurant may use and/or offer for sale only food products, beverages, ingredients, uniforms, packaging materials, menus, forms, labels, equipment and other supplies and other products and services that conform to our specifications and quality standards and/or are purchased from suppliers we approve (which may…
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You may purchase or lease approved types, brands, or models of fixtures, furniture, equipment, signs, supplies and installation services only from suppliers approved by us.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
Prior to the opening of your Restaurant, and as a condition thereof, you shall establish a designated bank account from which we shall be authorized to withdraw in any manner which we prescribe (including electronic transfer of funds), any amounts due to us or our Affiliates from you under this Agreement, including…
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 11
You must maintain a competent, conscientious, trained staff in numbers sufficient to promptly service customers, including specified positions and minimum staffing levels that we may establish from time to time in the Operations Manual.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must record all sales on POS Systems designated or approved by us.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
There are no contractual limits on our independent access to the information and data generated by your POS System.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may require you (or your Operating Partner) and your employees to attend and successfully complete other training courses, quality assurance programs, conferences (including annual conferences) and seminars at such locations as we may designate (“Ongoing Training”).
The filing answers no to 4 questions
- Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
- Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?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.
HQ committee: CEO/President + VP Ops + IT/CIO + Franchise + procurement involved.
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 Charleys
Charleys Philly Steaks operates 826 units in the US, 766 of them franchised and 60 company-owned. The Item 19 disclosure reports a figure of $845,372 for a cohort of 713 franchised restaurants that were open throughout the 2025 calendar year, on a 6% royalty and a 10-year initial term. Size alone makes this a system worth mapping, but the more useful signal for a vendor is how tightly the corporate office already controls point-of-sale.
Who controls software purchasing
The mapped operator base shows 176 operators, all running a single unit each, concentrated in Texas, Virginia, New York, Illinois and Ohio. That footprint points toward a franchisor-led buying process rather than large operator groups negotiating their own stack. Founder and CEO Charley M. Shin leads the organization that sets those standards system-wide.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
Item 11 requires every Charleys location to run Brink POS by PAR Technology and the Bite ordering platform. The filing's own language is specific: franchisees must purchase a ParTech support contract for the Brink POS system, must keep the POS system reachable from Charleys' corporate computer system at all times, and must install at least one ordering kiosk. Franchisees must also use one of Charleys' designated vendors to install the POS system and buy it from an approved supplier before opening. CPSW restaurants must also install in-restaurant media equipment from the approved vendor, currently MoodMedia. DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats appear in Item 19 of the filing.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 sets an approved-supplier list: fixtures, furniture, equipment, signs and supplies must come from suppliers Charleys has approved, though a franchisee can request approval of an alternate supplier in writing. Franchise terms run 10 years. Charleys may grant a renewal term shorter than 10 years at a rate of $1,000 per additional year, and renewal requires 180 days' notice, a restaurant remodel, a general release and a new franchise agreement that can carry materially different terms — each a point where technology contracts tend to get revisited.
How to read the Charleys FDD
The embedded PDF viewer below is Charleys' 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 11 covers the technology and training requirements, Item 8 the supplier restrictions, Item 17 the renewal and transfer terms, and Item 19 the financial performance representation. Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of similar targets.
Questions vendors ask
Charleys“Charleys”, “Charleys Philly Steaks”, “Charley’s Grilled Subs”, answered from the filing
Charleys' corporate franchisor sets the technology standard system-wide; founder and CEO Charley M. Shin heads the organization that designates the POS and ordering platforms every franchisee must run.
The FDD requires Brink POS by PAR Technology and the Bite ordering platform. DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats are named in Item 19 of the filing. Franchisees must keep their POS system reachable from Charleys' corporate system and buy a support contract from ParTech for the Brink POS system.
826 total units, 766 franchised and 60 company-owned, with the largest mapped operator counts in Texas, Virginia, New York, Illinois and Ohio.
Item 8 runs an approved-supplier list: franchisees buy fixtures, equipment, signs and supplies only from suppliers Charleys approves, though a franchisee may propose an alternate supplier for approval.
Franchise terms run 10 years, and Charleys may grant a renewal shorter than 10 years at a rate of $1,000 per additional year. Renewal requires 180 days' notice, a remodel and a new franchise agreement — each a point where vendor contracts tend to get revisited.
The embedded PDF viewer below holds Charleys' 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document in full — read Items 8, 11, 17 and 19 directly for the sourcing, technology, renewal and financial-performance terms.
Source
Read the filing itself
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Charleys“Charleys”, “Charleys Philly Steaks”, “Charley’s Grilled Subs” files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
176 operators run 176 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit176
Top states by locations
| TX | 48 |
|---|---|
| VA | 22 |
| NY | 16 |
| IL | 13 |
| OH | 12 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.