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From the filings
+35.417% units YoYHQ-led decisions
CML Franchise
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at CML Franchise is controlled at the headquarters level, with key decision-makers including President Shaun Higgins and General Counsel/Corporate Franchise Manager Nick Loukes. The system currently mandates the CML Mobile App, and the addressable market consists of 73 total units—65 franchised and 8 company-owned—concentrated in the quick-service restaurant segment.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
73
65 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+35.417%
vs prior filing
AUV
$1.23M
Item 19, 2024
Royalty
2%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$40K
per unit
Investment range
$194K–$651K
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.
4%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.
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
28 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 3 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 will have independent access to the information generated and stored in the POS System.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within thirty (30) days of the end of each calendar quarter, you must submit to us a financial statement prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles for that - 26 – CML Food Truck FA calendar quarter, and it must be signed and sworn by you to be true and correct.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We or our affiliates are the only approved suppliers of lobster and seafood inventory that you must buy for and use in your Food Truck.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
reserve the right to modify any aspect or element of the Trade Dress and/or the System.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
29071739Item 8
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, our affiliate, CSD, derived $29,071,739, or 90% of its total revenues, which totaled $32,428,003, from the sale of products and services to our and CMLS’s franchisees, collectively.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and our affiliates derive revenue or other material consideration from required purchases or leases by franchisees from approved 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?
25Item 8
between 25% and 50% of your total cost of operating a Food Truck
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We will require you to reimburse us for our reasonable costs incurred with respect to evaluating a supplier or product for which you request our approval.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
if you wish to purchase any products or services for which we have established approved suppliers from an unapproved supplier, you may request our consent in writing and we will be required to consider your request.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
You must, at our option and request, assign to us all rights to all telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, URLs, domain names, social media identities, Internet listings, and Internet accounts related to your Food Truck.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to comply with the then- current Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards as those standards may be revised and modified by the PCI Security Standards Council, LLC (see www.pcisecuritystandards.org), or any successor organization or standards that we may reasonably specify.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
During the Term and for a period of three (3) years following the termination or expiration of the Agreement, we (either directly or through a designated agent) have the right to visit the place where your records are located and inspect all aspects of the operation of your Food Truck, at any time during normal…
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 11
We may modify the Operations Manual at any time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
You must obtain our approval of the location of the Commissary and Prep-Kitchen, which must be located in your Territory.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
You must spend a minimum of between $1,000 and $2,500 on grand opening advertising before you begin operating, and within the first two (2) months of beginning to operate, your Food Truck.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
You must spend at least $400 per month on local advertising and marketing for your Food Truck.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 11
You are required to enable the CML Mobile App service upon opening.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
If your Food Truck is within the territory of an existing Cooperative at the time you open for business, you must immediately begin participating in the Cooperative.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
We require you to purchase your POS system, Digital Signage System, Networking System, Mobile App Equipment, related software, and other technology and software products from our designated suppliers.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We require you to purchase your POS system, Digital Signage System, Networking System, Mobile App Equipment, related software, and other technology and software products from our designated suppliers.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 8
You must obtain a merchant services account from an approved supplier for credit card processing.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
All fees or money that you owe to us or our affiliates must be paid by electronic transfer no later than on the date they are due.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
You are required to enable the CML Mobile App service upon opening and will be required to purchase additional equipment and will also be required to carry a monthly subscription for each applicable unit you operate at our then-current monthly subscription fee.
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You must require your employees to wear uniforms while working at or for your Food Truck of such design and color as we may prescribe in the Operations Manual.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You must purchase and install a point-of-sale system (the “POS System”), as well as certain technology products we specify such as digital menu boards and signs (together with the CML Mobile App and POS System, the “Technology Products”).
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to the information generated and stored in the POS System.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We have the right to charge you our then-current fee as published in the Operations Manual (currently, $500 per day).
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 11
Besides attending these courses, you must attend an annual meeting of all franchisees at a location we designate.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?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 franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
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 CML Franchise
CML Franchise operates 73 quick-service restaurant locations, 65 of which are franchised and 8 company-owned. The system posted 35.4% year-over-year unit growth, signaling an expanding footprint that may require new or upgraded software. Average unit volume sits at $1,234,567.89, and the royalty rate is 2.0%. For software vendors, the addressable market is modest but growing, with a headquarters-driven purchasing structure that concentrates decision-making in a small group of executives.
Who controls software purchasing
The 2025 FDD lists four owners—Jim Tselikis, Sabin Lomac, and Barbara Corcoran—alongside President Shaun Higgins and General Counsel/Corporate Franchise Manager Nick Loukes. In a system of this size, the President and General Counsel are the most likely software buyers. Vendors should direct outreach to these individuals, as no multi-unit operators are mapped in our corpus and no decentralized purchasing authority is indicated. The ownership group includes no parent company; CML Franchise appears independently owned.
Mandated and current tech stack
The only mandated technology disclosed in the 2025 FDD is the CML Mobile App. No POS, back-office, inventory, or HR systems are named as required or recommended. This does not mean no other tech is in use—only that the franchisor has not disclosed additional mandates. Vendors selling complementary or replacement solutions should treat the existing stack as largely unknown and use discovery conversations to map the current environment.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD contains no extract, so the procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly known. Similarly, Item 17 provides no renewal signal, and the initial term length is not disclosed. This lack of transparency means contract windows are difficult to predict. However, with 35.4% unit growth, new franchise locations may trigger software evaluations as the system scales. Vendors should monitor new unit openings as potential entry points.
How to read the CML Franchise FDD
The 2025 CML Franchise Franchise Disclosure Document is filed with state franchise regulators and available in the embedded viewer below. Key items for software vendors include Item 1 (executives), Item 11 (mandated systems), and Item 8 (procurement restrictions). Because several items lack disclosed detail, direct engagement with HQ may be necessary to fill gaps. For a ranked list of franchise systems that match your software category, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
CML Franchise, answered from the filing
President Shaun Higgins and General Counsel/Corporate Franchise Manager Nick Loukes are the named executives in the 2025 FDD. They are the likely buying center for enterprise software decisions.
The 2025 FDD mandates the CML Mobile App. No other operational or POS systems are disclosed as mandated or recommended in the available data.
There are 73 total units: 65 franchised and 8 company-owned. This is a small but growing quick-service restaurant system with 35.4% year-over-year unit growth.
The procurement model is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. Item 8 contains no extract, so whether they use designated suppliers, approved suppliers, or an open model is unknown.
The initial term length and renewal signals are not disclosed in the 2025 FDD. With 35.4% unit growth, new location openings may create natural evaluation windows for software vendors.
The 2025 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review it using the embedded PDF viewer below on this page.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment CML Franchise files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
52 operators run 52 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit52
Top states by locations
| FL | 6 |
|---|---|
| CA | 5 |
| TX | 5 |
| IL | 4 |
| PA | 4 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.