DELI DELICIOUS FRANCHISING, INCDELI DELICIOUSDELI DELICIOUS

The vendor opportunity at Deli Delicious

Deli Delicious Franchising, Inc. operates as a quick-service restaurant brand headquartered in California with 44 franchised locations and no company-owned units. The brand contracted by roughly 10% year-over-year, signaling a period of consolidation rather than rapid expansion. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is those 44 existing franchise units, all of which appear to operate without a mandated technology stack. This means every location is a potential greenfield for POS, payroll, scheduling, inventory, or loyalty platforms—if you can win the HQ relationship.

Average unit volume and royalty rates are not disclosed in the 2022 FDD, making ROI modeling less precise. However, the 15-year initial franchise term and renewal clause that allows for materially different future agreements suggest long-term vendor relationships could be valuable if established early.

Who controls software purchasing

Purchasing authority sits with a tight-knit executive team. Mohammad Hobab, listed as Owner and Chairman of the Board, is the ultimate decision-maker. His son, Hesam Hobab, serves as President, Secretary, and Director, likely handling day-to-day operational decisions, including technology evaluation. Ali Nekumanesh, Executive Vice President and Director, and Jennifer Brandon, the Controller/CPA, round out the buying center. Brandon’s financial oversight role makes her a probable gatekeeper for any software involving accounting, payroll, or reporting.

There are no multi-unit operators on file—only two single-unit franchisees mapped across two locations, both in California. This flat operator structure reinforces that all strategic software decisions flow through HQ, not through a layer of influential multi-unit owners.

Mandated and current tech stack

The 2022 FDD contains no Item 11 technology mandates or recommendations. No POS provider, no back-office system, no online ordering platform, and no loyalty vendor is named. This absence is itself a critical data point: it means franchisees are either using a patchwork of self-selected tools or the franchisor has not formalized its tech requirements. For a vendor, this represents an opportunity to propose a standardized stack that HQ could roll out to improve consistency and data aggregation across the system.

Because no existing vendors are disclosed, competitive displacement is not an immediate hurdle. The sales conversation can focus on greenfield implementation rather than rip-and-replace.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD, which typically outlines procurement restrictions and designated suppliers, was not captured in the available extract. This leaves the procurement model ambiguous—franchisees may have broad freedom to choose suppliers, or there may be unwritten HQ preferences. Vendors should clarify this directly in initial conversations.

Renewal terms offer a potential trigger for technology discussions. Franchisees must provide written notice, demonstrate full compliance, and sign the then-current franchise agreement, which the FDD explicitly states “may differ materially from the current Franchise Agreement.” This language gives the franchisor leverage to introduce new technology requirements at renewal time. With 15-year terms, a wave of renewals could create a natural window for mandated software adoption, though the specific renewal calendar is not public.

How to read the Deli Delicious FDD

The embedded PDF viewer below contains the full 2022 Franchise Disclosure Document. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executive team), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, if any), Item 11 (franchisor assistance and technology obligations), and Item 17 (renewal and termination conditions). Because this FDD lacks the typical technology disclosures found in larger chains, reading it closely is essential to confirm what is—and isn’t—required before you build a pitch. For a ranked target list of franchise brands matched to your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize outreach.