Constant Contact
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
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Coffee News USA
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Coffee News USA is controlled at the headquarters level, where the Buckley family ownership group and CFO Garrett Guernsey oversee operations. The system mandates use of the Coffee News Resource Center, a proprietary platform, but does not disclose a public POS or operational tech stack in its FDD. The total addressable market in unit terms is not disclosed in the most recent FDD.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
—
system-wide
Unit growth YoY
—
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
—
of gross sales
Ad fund
—
national + local
Initial fee
$10K
per unit
Investment range
$12K–$147K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Franchisor controlled
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
No claims
from the 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.
Facebook
s 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, T
Mailchimp
ntry 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 Constan
PayPal
ES 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
Twitter
e 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, mess
YouTube
ees 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, bl
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?
YesItem 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?
387947Item 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?
12Item 8
estimated about 12-16% in operating the business.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 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?
YesItem 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?
YesItem 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
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
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The vendor opportunity at Coffee News USA
Coffee News USA presents a concentrated sales target for software vendors. As a quick-service restaurant franchisor headquartered in Maine, the company is closely held by the Buckley family—William A. Buckley (45%), Sue-Ann Buckley (45%), and John B. Buckley (10%). The total unit count is not disclosed in the 2026 FDD, which means the addressable market size remains unverified from public filings. Vendors should approach this account knowing that the decision-making circle is small and centralized at the HQ level, with no multi-unit operators mapped in our corpus. The absence of a disclosed average unit volume or royalty rate further underscores the need for direct discovery conversations to size the opportunity.
Who controls software purchasing
Purchasing authority rests with the ownership group and the chief financial officer. The FDD Item 1 lists William A. Buckley, Sue-Ann Buckley, and John B. Buckley as the sole shareholders, with Garrett Guernsey serving as CFO. In a franchisor of this structure, software evaluation and procurement typically involve the CFO for financial systems and the owners for operational platforms. There are no named technology or IT executives in the filing, so initial outreach should target the CFO’s office. Because no multi-unit operators appear in our data, the franchisee influence on system-wide technology decisions is likely minimal.
Mandated and current tech stack
The only mandated technology disclosed in the 2026 FDD is the Coffee News Resource Center. This proprietary platform appears to be the central hub for franchise operations, though its specific functionality—whether it covers marketing, training, or communications—is not detailed in the filing. No point-of-sale system, payroll provider, inventory management tool, or other operational software is named as mandatory or recommended. This gap suggests either an open technology environment or a lack of public disclosure, creating a potential opening for vendors who can demonstrate integration value with the Resource Center.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Procurement rules are not spelled out in the available FDD extract. Item 8, which typically outlines designated suppliers and purchasing restrictions, contains no extract in our corpus. This means the franchisor’s control over franchisee software purchases is unknown. The franchise agreement carries a 4-year initial term, and Item 17 signals that renewal may require signing a materially different agreement. Software vendors should consider these 4-year cycles as potential windows for system reevaluation, though no recent renewal activity or contract expiration data is available to pinpoint timing.
How to read the Coffee News USA FDD
The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is the primary source for verifying the claims in this profile. Key items for software vendors include Item 8 (procurement restrictions), Item 11 (mandated technology and supplier lists), and Item 17 (renewal and transfer conditions). The embedded PDF viewer below contains the full filing. Pay close attention to any schedules or attachments that list approved vendors, as these are often where operational software requirements appear. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help prioritize your outbound efforts.
Questions vendors ask
Coffee News USA, answered from the filing
The buying center includes owners William A. Buckley, Sue-Ann Buckley, and John B. Buckley, along with CFO Garrett Guernsey. As a small, closely-held franchisor, purchasing decisions likely involve this core executive group.
The 2026 FDD mandates the Coffee News Resource Center. No point-of-sale system or other operational software vendors are disclosed as mandatory or recommended in the filing.
The total number of franchised and company-owned units is not disclosed in the 2026 FDD. The brand operates in the quick-service restaurant segment and is headquartered in Maine.
The procurement model is not detailed in the available FDD extract. Item 8 signals regarding designated or approved suppliers are not present, leaving the purchasing restrictions unclear.
The initial franchise term is 4 years. Renewal requires signing a potentially materially different agreement. Contract windows may align with these 4-year cycles, but no recent activity data is available.
The FDD is filed with state franchise regulators in 2026. You can review the embedded PDF viewer below to analyze the full disclosure document directly.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
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Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
128 operators run 128 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit128
Top states by locations
| ME | 8 |
|---|---|
| TX | 6 |
| IN | 4 |
| FL | 4 |
| CA | 3 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.