DoorDashDoorDash
d at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub, DoorDash and other p
From the filings
HQ-led decisions
Elevation Burger
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing decisions at Elevation Burger flow through the FAT Brands technology leadership, specifically Senior Vice President of Technology Brandon Drake. The most recent FDD mandates Social Media Management Software, while other operational systems remain open for vendor evaluation. With 32 franchised locations and an average unit volume of $1,083,585, the addressable market is compact but concentrated under a single parent entity's tech stack strategy.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
32
32 franchised
Unit growth YoY
-8.571%
vs prior filing
AUV
$1.08M
Item 19, 2024
Royalty
6%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$50K
per unit
Investment range
$517K–$1.99M
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.
8%of gross sales (FY2026)
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.
GrubhubGrubhub
be filled at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub, DoorDash and
PostmatesUber
erritory to be filled at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates, GrubHub,
Uber EatsUber
Protected Territory to be filled at your Restaurant and you may not provide delivery services or catering services (directly or through a first party or any third party, including Uber Eats, Postmates
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
22 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 9 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 and our affiliates do have independent access to the information generated and stored in your Information System.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates will derive revenue (to include rebates and other material consideration) on account of these purchases and leases and may impose mark-ups on products and equipment sold to and/or leased by franchisees.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 11
We may periodically modify specifications for and components of the Information System.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
During our fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, our total revenue was $1,456,956, none of which was derived from required purchases or leases from franchisees.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates will derive revenue (to include rebates and other material consideration) on account of these purchases and leases and may impose mark-ups on products and equipment sold to and/or leased by franchisees.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you wish to procure any items from a supplier other than ones we have previously approved or designated, you must deliver written notice seeking approval of the supplier.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
assign to us all of your business telephone numbers.
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesItem 11
Conduct, as we deem advisable, inspections of the Restaurant and evaluations of the products sold and services rendered in and from the Restaurant.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee hereby re-affirms its obligation to operate the Business in strict compliance with the Co-branded Manuals, as amended from time to time.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You must use a real estate broker that we designate or otherwise approve to assist you to locate the premises for your Restaurant and assist you to negotiate a lease or purchase of the premises for your Restaurant.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 12
You do not have the right to operate a website or use our trademarks in any other manner on the Internet or in other electronic means of communication.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
In addition to contributing to the Fund, you must also spend 2% of net sales during each calendar quarter on local advertising and promotion of your Restaurant.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 8
You must accept MasterCard, Visa and American Express as well as such other credit and debit cards and other non-cash systems, loyalty and gift cards as we specify, and you must obtain, replace and modify all equipment required to implement the same in accordance with our policies and procedures.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You will also purchase products from a designated vendor that GAC Supply sells to that vendor for distribution to you.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase all furnishings (including indoor and outdoor furniture), fixtures, decor, signage, equipment, computer hardware, software, uniforms, merchandise, flat screen television monitors, menu board system, in-store music system and sound system, inventory and other supplies, food products, ingredients…
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
At our request, we may require you to pay Royalty and National Advertising Fund payments due by electronic funds transfer or any similar arrangement, in which case you must sign the documents that are necessary for us to implement the payment system.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 8
You must accept MasterCard, Visa and American Express as well as such other credit and debit cards and other non-cash systems, loyalty and gift cards as we specify, and you must obtain, replace and modify all equipment required to implement the same in accordance with our policies and procedures.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
Your manager must assume responsibility for the day- to-day operation of the Restaurant, oversight of the preparation of food products, and supervision of personnel and accounting and must spend at least 40 hours per week overseeing the operation of the Restaurant
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 16
You must use certain uniforms approved by us.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must purchase or lease and maintain, at your own expense, only those brands, types, makes and/or models of Information Systems computer hardware and software, communications hardware and software, point of sale hardware and software, kitchen display systems, kiosk(s), data and/or databases and any other items…
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We and our affiliates do have independent access to the information generated and stored in your Information System.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
Provide, as we deem appropriate, additional training for you or your manager, operating partner, assistant managers, shift leaders or other employees and quarterly training and status meetings.
The filing answers no to 3 questions
- Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
- Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?Item 11
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?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 Elevation Burger
Elevation Burger operates 32 franchised locations, all under the FAT Brands umbrella. The system generated an average unit volume of $1,083,585 in the most recent reporting period. While unit count contracted by 8.57% year-over-year, the brand remains an active quick-service concept with a 6.0% royalty rate and a 15-year initial franchise term. For software vendors, the opportunity lies not in a sprawling footprint but in a centralized technology decision-making structure at FAT Brands headquarters. A single conversation with the right executive can unlock the entire system.
Who controls software purchasing
Technology purchasing authority sits with Brandon Drake, Senior Vice President of Technology at FAT Brands. The broader executive team includes CEO Andrew A. Wiederhorn, President Taylor Wiederhorn, COO Thayer Wiederhorn, and CFO Kenneth J. Kuick. Because Elevation Burger has no company-owned units and no multi-unit operators mapped in our corpus, the buying center is exclusively HQ-driven. Vendors should direct outreach to the technology leadership rather than pursuing a fragmented franchisee sales strategy. The absence of a large operator base means no single franchisee controls enough units to drive an independent tech adoption cycle.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2026 FDD mandates Social Media Management Software. No other technology systems—POS, online ordering, loyalty, inventory, or labor scheduling—appear as mandates in the disclosure. This narrow mandate leaves significant whitespace for vendors offering operational or back-of-house platforms. The lack of a named POS mandate is particularly notable in the quick-service segment, where many franchisors lock in a specific system. Vendors should treat the current stack as largely open, with the understanding that any HQ-level adoption would likely cascade to all 32 locations.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD does not provide a procurement extract, meaning no designated supplier list is publicly disclosed. This typically signals an approved-supplier or open-market model, giving software vendors a direct path to pitch either HQ or individual franchisees. Renewal terms run 10 years, with conditions including good standing, a renewal fee equal to 40% of the then-current initial franchise fee, and a signed general release. The recent unit contraction suggests that renewal-driven technology refreshes will be infrequent in the near term. Vendors should focus on net-new HQ initiatives rather than waiting for contract expiration cycles.
How to read the Elevation Burger FDD
The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document is the authoritative source for technology mandates, procurement rules, and executive disclosures. Item 11 details the mandated Social Media Management Software requirement. Item 1 lists the full executive team, establishing the buying center. Item 17 outlines renewal conditions and term lengths that shape the technology refresh calendar. Review the embedded PDF below to extract additional vendor-relevant details. For a ranked target list of franchise systems matched to your software category, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Elevation Burger, answered from the filing
Brandon Drake, Senior Vice President of Technology at FAT Brands, oversees technology decisions. The executive team also includes CEO Andrew Wiederhorn and CFO Kenneth Kuick, forming a centralized HQ buying center.
The 2026 FDD explicitly mandates Social Media Management Software. No specific POS, delivery, or back-of-house system mandates are disclosed, suggesting an open or approved-supplier model for core operational tech.
The system comprises 32 total units, all of which are franchised. No company-owned locations are disclosed. This represents a compact, single-brand footprint within the quick-service restaurant segment.
The FDD does not provide an Item 8 procurement extract. Without a designated supplier list, the model likely defaults to approved supplier or open-market purchasing, giving vendors a direct path to pitch franchisees or HQ.
Initial franchise terms run 15 years, with 10-year renewals. The system saw an -8.57% unit contraction recently, so renewal-triggered tech evaluations may be limited. Vendor conversations should target HQ-driven stack upgrades or new mandates.
The 2026 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the full document using the embedded PDF viewer below to analyze Item 11 tech mandates, Item 8 procurement, and executive disclosures directly.
Source
Read the filing itself
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Elevation Burger files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
16 operators run 16 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit16
Top states by locations
| MD | 3 |
|---|---|
| VA | 3 |
| CA | 2 |
| ME | 1 |
| DC | 1 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Elevation Burger
unknown of elevation franchise ventures.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.