From the filings

HQ-led decisions

Coffee News USA

Professional services

Coffee News USA is a franchised weekly publication brand with 127 mapped operators, each running a single unit. The 2026 FDD names William A. Buckley, Sue-Ann Buckley, John B. Buckley, and CFO Garrett Guernsey as officers, and Item 8 shows a designated-supplier model for content and printing. Software vendors should read this as a small, HQ-controlled system where purchasing decisions are concentrated at the top.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

FDD key facts2026

FDD year	2026
Franchise term	4 years
AUV (Item 19)	—
Royalty	Complete royalty terms unconfirmed
Ad fund	—
Addressable units	—
Decision level	HQ
Tech landscape	—
Investment range	$11K–$146K
Procurement	Franchisor controlled

Run Analyze Talk to sales

Read the full FDD

Live signals

Total units

—

system-wide

Franchised outlet growth

—

Item 20, last two year-ends

AUV

—

Item 19

Royalty

Complete royalty terms unconfirmed

percentage component

Ad fund

—

percentage component

Initial fee

$10K

per unit

Investment range

$11K–$146K

all-in, Item 7

Procurement

Franchisor controlled

from the filing

Non-compete

2 years

from the filing

Item 19

No claims

from the filing

Ordinary royalty terms

Complete royalty terms unconfirmed

Complete royalty terms are not confirmed for the selected filing.

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.

Constant ContactConstant Contact

MarketingItem 22

4.5.1.6. Coffee News® man is hidden in one of the ads each week and clickable to the contest entry form as part of the Coffee News® Contest. 4.5.2. Premium Service. The Premium Service is designed for publishers who do not already use an email marketing application such as MailChimp or Constant Contact. In addition to the Basic Service, Chil Consulting and/or Shadow Fox Consulting, the current third party contractors that provide Coffee News Online services, will provide email marketing services of your online edition and any other email marketing messages to your contacts for you each week. You would provide the email content to Chil Consulting and/or Shadow Fox Consulting.

FacebookMeta

MarketingItem 22

Coffee News Social Media Policy For Coffee News Franchisees As the Franchisor of the Coffee News franchises, Coffee News USA, Inc. (“Coffee News” or “We”) acknowledge that various technology and social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, blogs, message boards, wikis, social networking services, video and photo sharing websites, etc., are changing the way people interact. The use of the social media to promote businesses is getting more popular than ever. We respect and support Coffee News Franchisees’ (or “your”) rights to interact with others through social media in a responsible and knowledgeable manner.

MailchimpIntuit

MarketingItem 22

PayPalPayPal

PaymentsItem 6

OTHER FEES Name of Fee Amount Due Date Remarks Weekly - $80 fee begins on the first day of the paid to us by credit / debit Initial third month following the month the cards, check, or by PayPal Franchise for initial franchise agreement was hardcopy signed ("the fourth month of the Periodical agreement") and continues (See note 1) monthly

TwitterX

MarketingItem 22

As the Franchisor of the Coffee News franchises, Coffee News USA, Inc. (“Coffee News” or “We”) acknowledge that various technology and social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, blogs, message boards, wikis, social networking services, video and photo sharing websites, etc., are changing the way people interact. The use of the social media to promote businesses is getting more popular than ever. We respect and support Coffee News Franchisees’ (or “your”) rights to interact with others through social media in a responsible and knowledgeable manner.

YouTubeGoogle

MarketingItem 22

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

6 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 9 explicit no's; 19 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.

How the franchisor buys

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

Yes

Item 8

We are the sole provider of copy or content for your periodical.

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

387947

Item 8

In 2024, revenue from all sources was $424,965 with $387,947, representing all required purchases and leases for 91.3% of total revenues.

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?

Item 8

estimated about 12-16% in operating the business.

Franchise management

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Item 9

s. Inspections / audits Sections 8.7, 8.8 Item 6

Payments

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

Yes

Item 22

payment by Franchisees of weekly fees beginning with the fourth month term of this Agreement shall be made by credit card or check or optionally, by preauthorized automatic debit to the Franchisees demand deposit account, when available.

Training

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

Yes

Item 22

All existing franchisees may attend future initial training programs voluntarily.

The filing answers no to 9 questions

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?Item 8
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Item 22
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?Item 11
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?Item 11
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?Item 8
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?Item 22
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?Item 15
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Item 11

The vendor opportunity at Coffee News USA

Coffee News USA operates a franchised weekly publication model with 127 mapped operators, all single-unit, across at least five states. The top states are Maine (8), Texas (6), Indiana (4), Florida (4), and California (3). The 2026 FDD makes no financial performance representation under Item 19, so vendors cannot benchmark average unit volume from the filing. The initial franchise term is 4 years.

Who controls software purchasing

Item 2 of the FDD names William A. Buckley (45% shareholder), Sue-Ann Buckley (45% shareholder), John B. Buckley (10% shareholder), and Garrett Guernsey as Chief Financial Officer. With a small HQ in Maine and no multi-unit operators, software purchasing authority is concentrated at the corporate level. Vendors should target the owners and CFO for any system that touches franchise operations, content distribution, or financial reporting.

Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required

The FDD names several technology systems. Item 6 names PayPal. Item 22 names Constant Contact, Facebook by Meta, Mailchimp by Intuit, Twitter by X, and YouTube by Google. The captured clauses do not describe any of these as mandated or required. Item 11 of the FDD sets the technology requirements, but no specific sentences were captured in the inputs. Vendors should read the full Item 11 in the embedded filing to understand any binding technology obligations.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 establishes a designated-supplier model. Franchisees must purchase weekly copy/content exclusively from the franchisor. Printing services must initially be purchased from Coffee News Printing, LLC, a designated local commercial printer in Bangor, Maine, for a minimum of one year from the franchise agreement date. After that year, franchisees may use another print shop. Online services, if enrolled, must be purchased from designated third-party contractors (Shadow Fox Consulting or Chil Co). Franchisees may propose a supplier for approval.

Initial terms run 4 years. Renewal requires compliance with the franchise agreement and may involve signing a materially different agreement. Software vendors should time outreach around renewal cycles and any HQ-driven changes to designated suppliers.

How to read the Coffee News USA FDD

The embedded PDF below is the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 2 lists officers, Item 8 covers supplier restrictions, Item 11 covers technology and training, Item 17 covers renewal, transfer, and termination, and Item 19 covers financial performance representations. For a ranked target list of franchise systems that fit your software, talk to FranCloud.

Ordinary royalty terms

Complete royalty terms are not confirmed.

Questions vendors ask

Coffee News USA, answered from the filing

The FDD names William A. Buckley, Sue-Ann Buckley, John B. Buckley, and CFO Garrett Guernsey as officers. With a 127-unit, single-operator footprint and HQ in Maine, purchasing authority likely sits with these owners and the CFO.

Item 11 of the FDD sets its technology requirements. The filing names PayPal in Item 6, and Constant Contact, Facebook, Mailchimp, Twitter, and YouTube in Item 22. No system is described as mandated in the captured clauses.

127 mapped operators across roughly 127 located units, all single-unit operators. Top states are Maine (8), Texas (6), Indiana (4), Florida (4), and California (3).

Item 8 uses designated suppliers only. Franchisees must buy weekly copy/content exclusively from the franchisor. Printing must initially come from Coffee News Printing, LLC in Bangor, Maine for one year, after which another print shop may be used.

Initial franchise terms run 4 years. Renewal requires compliance with the franchise agreement and may involve materially different terms. Watch for renewal cycles and any HQ-driven supplier changes.

The embedded PDF viewer below shows the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. Read Item 8 for supplier rules, Item 11 for technology, and Item 17 for renewal terms.

Source

Read the filing itself

Read the original document for the filing figures and their terms, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.

Coffee News USA2026 FDDView only

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

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Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

126 operators run 126 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit126

Top states by locations

ME	8
TX	6
IN	4
FL	4
CA	3

Related Professional services brands

Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Read the original filing for definitions, conditions, and qualifications.