From the filings

HQ-led decisions

CityBird

Quick service restaurant

Software purchasing at CityBird is controlled at the headquarters level, with a mandated proprietary software program governing operations. The brand operates 8 total units—6 company-owned and 2 franchised—giving vendors a small but concentrated addressable market. Key decision-makers include the Chief Operations Officer and Co-Founders, who oversee a system with an average unit volume of $605,024.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
8
2 franchised
Unit growth YoY
0%
vs prior filing
AUV
$605K
Item 19, 2024
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
0%
national + local
Initial fee
$35K
per unit
Investment range
$293K–$957K
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.

6%of gross sales (FY2025)

Ongoing fees: 6% of gross sales (FY2025)Royalty 6%, Ad fund 0%. Total 6% of gross sales. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 6%Ad fund 0%

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.

Facebook
MarketingItem 11

profile or other presence on the Internet, or otherwise advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Restaurants, including any profile on Facebook, Pinterest,

Instagram
MarketingItem 11

t, or otherwise advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Restaurants, including any profile on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube,

LinkedIn
MarketingItem 11

he Internet, or otherwise advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Restaurants, including any profile on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram,

Pinterest
MarketingItem 11

t image and message and to protect the Marks and System, you must not participate or market through the use of social technology, social media such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest and Twitte

Snapchat
MarketingItem 11

rtise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Restaurants, including any profile on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat or any othe

TikTok
MarketingItem 11

onsistent image and message and to protect the Marks and System, you must not participate or market through the use of social technology, social media such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest an

Twitter
MarketingItem 11

ence on the Internet, or otherwise advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Restaurants, including any profile on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, I

YouTube
MarketingItem 11

wise advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Restaurants, including any profile on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat or

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

26 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 5 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?

Yes

Item 11

We reserve the right to have independent access to any data you collect electronically.

Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

You agree to submit to us, in accordance with requirements prescribed by us from time to time (initially in thirteen four-week reporting periods per year) and in a format which we may designate from time to time: (a) at the same time the Royalty Fee is due, a weekly report of the sales of the Restaurant and all other…

How the franchisor buys

Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?

Yes

Item 8

We or our affiliates may receive revenues or profits or other material consideration from the purchases you make from us, our affiliates, or from other approved suppliers.

Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?

Yes

Item 8

We reserve the right to change the standards and specifications from time to time on

How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?

0

Item 8

Neither we nor our affiliates have received any prior income from required franchisee purchases as of the date of this disclosure, but we reserve the right to do so in the future.

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

We or our affiliates may retain any rebates or other payments we receive from suppliers.

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?

50

Item 8

approximately 50% to 75% of your annual costs to operate your Restaurant on an ongoing basis.

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

In the event you wish to purchase any unapproved item, including inventory, and/or acquire approved items from an unapproved supplier, you must provide us the name, address and telephone number of the proposed supplier, a description of the item you wish to purchase, and the purchase price of the item, if known.

Communications

Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?

Yes

Franchise agreement

You acknowledge that we have the sole rights to and interest in all telephone numbers, post office boxes, and directory listings relating to any Mark, and you authorize us to direct the telephone company, the postal service, and all listing agencies to transfer all telephone numbers, post office boxes, and directory…

Data and IT

Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

You agree to abide by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards enacted by the applicable Card Associations, as applicable to your business.

Franchise management

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Franchise agreement

We will have the right to add to and otherwise modify the Operating Manual from time to time, if deemed necessary or advisable to improve the standards of service or product quality or the efficient operation of the Restaurant, to protect or maintain the goodwill associated with the Marks, to take advantage of…

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 11

You must obtain a location that is approved by us within six (6) months of signing the Franchise Agreement.

Marketing

Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?

Yes

Item 11

Except as approved in advance in writing by us, you may not establish or maintain a separate website, splash page, profile or other presence on the Internet, or otherwise advertise on the Internet or any other public computer network in connection with the Restaurants, including any profile on Facebook, Pinterest…

Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Contemporaneous with your execution of the Lease for your Restaurant, you must pay us $10,000 for the management and implementation of your grand opening marketing plan (the “Grand Opening Marketing Fund”).

Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?

Yes

Item 11

In addition to the Advertising and Marketing Fund Contributions described above, you must spend a minimum of 2% of your Gross Sales on local advertising and promotion implemented in a format and using materials and designs approved by us as your “Local Advertising, Marketing, and Promotional Expenditure”.

Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?

Yes

Item 8

You must fully participate in all guest loyalty or frequent customer programs now or in the future adopted or approved by us.

Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?

Yes

Item 11

All franchisees in the designated geographical area must participate in the Cooperative.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

You must buy CityBird Proprietary Products only from us or our Approved Suppliers.

Payments

Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?

Yes

Item 6

You must participate in our then-current electronic funds transfer and reporting program(s). All fees owed and any other amounts designated by us must be received or credited to our account by pre-authorized bank debit by 5:00 p.m. on or before the applicable due date.

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Item 8

You must participate in all gift certificate and/or gift card administration programs as we may designated from time to time.

People

Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?

Yes

Item 15

At all times that your Restaurant is open for business, it must be under the personal, on-premises supervision of either you, your Operating Principal, your Key Manager, or a General Manager who has completed our Initial Training Program.

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

We will give to you and you must comply with our standards and specifications for the services and products offered at your Restaurant regarding food and beverages, menu, CityBird Franchise Company 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document 16 food type and quality, dry goods, sauces, raw ingredients, packaging material…

Point of sale

Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

You must obtain, maintain, and use the certain brands, types, makes, and/or models of communications, computer systems, and hardware we specify for use in the operation of your Restaurant.

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

We reserve the right to have independent access to any data you collect electronically.

Sales and CRM

Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

In addition, you must purchase, enroll in or subscribe to, as applicable, all CRM, social media analytics and online and mobile ordering software or programs that we designate.

Training

Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?

Yes

Item 11

We may also, at our option, require you, your Operating Principal, your Key Manager, or other managers, to attend supplemental or additional training programs which may be offered from time to time by us or our affiliates during the term of the franchise.

The filing answers no to 3 questions
  • Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 20
  • Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
  • Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Franchise agreement

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.

Sales LeaderSingle 1 19

The franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.

OwnerCEOPresidentPrincipal
  1. 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%.
  2. 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.
  3. 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 CityBird

CityBird is a quick-service restaurant concept with a small but high-performing footprint: 8 total units, of which 6 are company-owned and 2 are franchised. The brand reports an average unit volume of $605,024, signaling healthy per-location economics. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is tight—just 8 locations—but the concentration of company-owned units means a single HQ relationship can unlock the majority of the system. Operators are spread across five states: Ohio (5), Washington (2), New York (1), Michigan (1), and Indiana (1). All 12 mapped operators are single-unit franchisees, with no multi-unit operators on file. This structure reinforces HQ’s central role in technology decisions.

Who controls software purchasing

Purchasing authority sits at the top. The 2025 FDD lists Alex Blust as Chief Operations Officer, a natural entry point for operational software. Co-Founders Johnathan Lanni and Joseph Lanni are also named in Item 1, and their involvement in strategic decisions is likely. Scotty Geiger, Vice President of Franchise Development, and Kyle Gardner, Vice President of Operations, round out the executive team. With no multi-unit operators and only two franchised locations, there is no distributed buying center to navigate. Vendors should direct outreach to the C-suite and operations leadership at headquarters.

Mandated and current tech stack

CityBird’s Item 11 disclosure is unambiguous: the brand mandates a Proprietary Software Program. No third-party POS, inventory management, scheduling, or accounting platforms are named in the FDD. This suggests the franchisor has built or commissioned a custom system that franchisees must adopt. For software vendors, this is both a barrier and a signal—any pitch must either integrate with or replace a locked-down proprietary environment. The absence of named third-party vendors means the current stack is effectively a black box to outsiders, but it also means there is no entrenched commercial relationship with an external POS or operations provider to dislodge.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the 2025 FDD provides no extract on procurement requirements, leaving the designated-supplier or approved-supplier structure unclear. This silence may indicate an open procurement environment outside the mandated software, or it may simply mean the details are handled outside the FDD. Vendors should clarify during discovery. Renewal timing offers a potential window: franchise agreements run 10 years, and Item 17 outlines a renewal option for additional 10-year terms. To renew, franchisees must pay a $10,000 fee, remain in compliance, and either retain their site or secure an approved alternative. They must also refurbish or relocate as directed and sign the then-current franchise agreement, which may differ materially from the original. These renewal events, spaced a decade apart, are natural moments for technology reassessment.

How to read the CityBird FDD

The full CityBird Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. It was filed with state franchise regulators in 2025 and contains the legal and operational disclosures that govern the franchise relationship. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 11 (the proprietary software mandate), Item 1 (executive team and ownership), and Item 17 (renewal conditions). The document also maps the operator footprint and unit economics that define the addressable market. Review it to validate your integration or replacement strategy before engaging the buying center. For a ranked target list of franchise systems aligned to your software category, FranCloud can help.

Questions vendors ask

CityBird, answered from the filing

The buying center includes Alex Blust (Chief Operations Officer) and Co-Founders Johnathan Lanni and Joseph Lanni. Scotty Geiger (VP Franchise Development) and Kyle Gardner (VP Operations) may also influence operational tool decisions.
CityBird mandates a Proprietary Software Program. No third-party POS, back-office, or operational systems are named in the 2025 FDD.
There are 8 total units: 6 company-owned and 2 franchised. The operator footprint spans 5 states, led by Ohio with 5 locations.
The 2025 FDD does not disclose a designated or approved supplier structure in Item 8. Procurement requirements beyond the mandated proprietary software are not specified.
Franchise agreements run 10 years with a renewal option for additional 10-year terms. Renewals require a $10,000 fee and possible site refurbishment or relocation, creating potential tech evaluation windows.
The CityBird FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2025. You can review it directly in the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source

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CityBird2025 FDDView only

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The brands you can actually sell into, from the filings.

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

12 operators run 12 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit12

Top states by locations

OH5
WA2
NY1
MI1
IN1

Ownership

The portfolio behind CityBird

strategic_multibrand of Thunderdome Restaurant Group.

Sibling brands

Related Quick service restaurant brands

Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.