FacebookMeta
rm Resource Locator) for any home page on the Internet, or (absent Famous Dave’s prior approval) in any online medium (including, without limitation, social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, L
From the filings
Famous Dave's Unit
Full service restaurantSoftware purchasing authority at Famous Dave's Unit is not detailed in the most recent FDD, leaving the decision-maker level unknown. The franchisor has not disclosed any mandated or recommended technology systems, and the total number of addressable units is not publicly available. Vendors should treat this as a greenfield research opportunity requiring direct discovery.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
100
70 franchised
Unit growth YoY
-7.895%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2026
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
1.5%
national + local
Initial fee
$35K
per unit
Investment range
$54K–$6.09M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Item 19
No 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.
6.5%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.
InstagramMeta
ny social network, social media or online community on the Internet or any other online, digital or electronic medium including, but not limited to, any “blog,” YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat,
LinkedInLinkedIn
) for any home page on the Internet, or (absent Famous Dave’s prior approval) in any online medium (including, without limitation, social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, a
SnapchatSnapchat
etwork, social media or online community on the Internet or any other online, digital or electronic medium including, but not limited to, any “blog,” YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Wikipedia,
TwitterX
e Locator) for any home page on the Internet, or (absent Famous Dave’s prior approval) in any online medium (including, without limitation, social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Y
YahooYahoo
, 2025 Franchise Company Owners Address City State Zip Phone or Email Kennedy, S. & Sandra.Kennedy,Maho Laveen AZ sdksandra@gmail.co Kennedy, M. gany.Kennedy m,mahoganycherry@ yahoo.com Arroyo Rea
YouTubeGoogle
the Restaurant in any social network, social media or online community on the Internet or any other online, digital or electronic medium including, but not limited to, any “blog,” YouTube, Facebook, I
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
24 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 1 explicit no; 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 17
Franchisee will, at its expense, install and maintain equipment to permit Famous Dave’s to access and retrieve over telephone lines, the Internet or other forms of telecommunication all information Famous Dave’s is entitled to obtain from Franchisee under this Agreement, including all information which is stored on…
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will, at its expense, prepare monthly, quarterly and year-to-date Financial Statements and will deliver those Financial Statements to Famous Dave’s within 30 days after the end of each period.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 17
Famous Dave’s or its Affiliates may be that source.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will, upon notice from Famous Dave’s, update the computers and software to the standards and specifications set forth in the then-current Standard Operating Procedures/Training Manual(s).
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee acknowledges that Famous Dave’s and/or its Affiliates will have the right to receive commissions, volume discounts, purchase discounts, performance payments, bonuses, rebates, marketing and advertising allowances, co-op advertising, administrative fees, enhancements, price discounts, economic benefits and…
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 17
Except for single source Foods, Beverages, and Products purchases and instances where Famous Dave’s has made volume commitments on behalf of franchisees that may be compromised, Franchisee will have the right to purchase the Foods, Beverages, and Products from other suppliers provided they conform to Famous Dave’s…
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee acknowledges and agrees that Famous Dave’s has the absolute right and interest in and to all telephone numbers and directory listings associated with the Marks, and Franchisee hereby authorizes Famous Dave’s to direct the telephone company and all listing agencies to transfer Franchisee’s telephone numbers…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will maintain the security of cardholder data and adhere to the then-current Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (“PCI DSS”), currently found at www.pcisecuritystandards.org, and any future generally-accepted security standards for the protection of cardholder data throughout the Term.
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesItem 17
Franchisee agrees to participate, at its expense, in any quality assurance monitoring programs Famous Dave’s specifies, including telephonic or electronic customer polling or onsite “secret shopper” programs, and Franchisee agrees to share the results of such programs with Famous Dave’s.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee will permit Famous Dave’s or its representatives to enter, remain on, and inspect the Restaurant without prior notice.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 17
Famous Dave’s may, from time to time, revise the Standard Operating Procedures/Training Manual(s) in the exercise of its reasonable business judgment.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will not purchase or lease a proposed site until Famous Dave’s has provided Franchisee with a no-objection letter for that proposed site.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will not establish a website or home page on the Internet (the “Home Page”) to advertise or promote its Restaurant without the prior written consent of Famous Dave’s.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee will spend a minimum of (a) $15,000 (or such other greater amount determined by Famous Dave’s, in its sole and absolute discretion, and specified in writing by Famous Dave’s) on the grand opening celebration for Franchisee’s Restaurant if the Restaurant is Franchisee’s first Restaurant in the market area…
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will, each calendar quarter, spend a minimum of 1.5% of its Revenues on approved local marketing and advertising for its Restaurant
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will purchase all proprietary proteins, sauces, seasonings, and other food products from a member of Famous Dave’s Distribution Marketing Advantage system or from any other distributor Famous Dave’s may designate in the future.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will purchase from designated suppliers the Foods, Beverages, and Products designated in writing by Famous Dave’s which are to be used or sold by the Restaurant and which Famous Dave’s determines must meet the standards of quality and uniformity required to protect the valuable goodwill and uniformity…
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 17
The undersigned hereby authorizes Famous Dave’s of America, Inc. its affiliate(s) or agents, (“Famous Dave’s”), to initiate monthly ACH debit entries against the account of the undersigned with you in payment of amounts for Royalty Fees, Marketing Fund Fees, or other amounts that become payable by the undersigned to…
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will not create or issue any gift cards or certificates and will only sell gift cards or certificates that have been issued by Famous Dave’s or an affiliated Entity, and which are accepted at all Famous Dave’s® Restaurants.
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesItem 17
Franchisee will require its employees to wear the standard attire or uniforms described in the Standard Operating Procedures/Training Manual(s).
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 17
Franchisee must exclusively use an approved electronic point-of-sale system to record all sales during the operation of your Restaurant, the components of which may be identified in the Manual.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 17
Franchisee agrees and acknowledges that Famous Dave’s has the right to access and retrieve all information concerning Franchisee and the Restaurant that is stored on Franchisee’s electronic cash registers and computers.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 17
Franchisee, Franchisee’s Management Staff and other employees of Franchisee may be required by Famous Dave’s to attend, at Franchisee’s expense, additional training on the dates scheduled by Famous Dave’s at the Restaurant, or another location designated by Famous Dave’s, on topics to be determined by Famous Dave’s…
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 17
Franchisee acknowledges that the attendance of at least one of its senior executives at the Famous Dave’s Annual Conference is mandatory.
The filing answers no to 1 question
- Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 17
The vendor opportunity at Famous Dave's Unit
Famous Dave's Unit is a full-service restaurant concept headquartered in Minong, Wisconsin. For software vendors, the immediate challenge is a near-total absence of public data in the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. The total number of units—both franchised and company-owned—is not disclosed. Average unit volume, royalty rates, and the initial franchise term are all absent from the filing. This lack of transparency means the addressable market size is unknown without primary research.
The brand appears to be independently owned, with no parent company on file. Year-over-year unit growth is not reported. For a vendor evaluating whether to allocate sales resources, this is a high-uncertainty target. The opportunity may be small and concentrated, or it could represent a larger, under-disclosed system. Direct qualification is essential before building a pitch.
Who controls software purchasing
The 2026 FDD does not list any executive officers in Item 1. No CEO, CIO, VP of Technology, or operations leadership is named. This makes it impossible to identify a specific buyer persona or buying center from the filing alone. Software vendors cannot rely on the FDD to map the org chart.
In practice, purchasing authority in an independently owned full-service restaurant chain of unknown scale could sit with a founder-operator, a general manager, or a small corporate team. Without operator footprint data in our corpus, we cannot confirm whether individual franchisees hold multi-unit portfolios or if decisions are centralized. The decision-maker level is classified as unknown.
Mandated and current tech stack
The FDD contains no Item 11 signals for technology mandates. No point-of-sale system, back-office platform, inventory management tool, or online ordering provider is named as required or recommended. This is unusual for a franchise system of any scale and may indicate one of two realities: either the franchisor exerts no control over technology choices, or the system is too small to have formalized a tech stack.
For a vendor, this cuts both ways. There is no incumbent to displace, but there is also no proof of concept that the franchisees value integrated software. A pitch would need to start from zero, educating the buyer on ROI rather than competing against a named rival.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the FDD, which typically discloses whether franchisees must purchase from designated suppliers, is not available in our extract. The procurement model is therefore unknown. It could be entirely open, or there could be hidden restrictions not captured in our corpus.
Similarly, Item 17 renewal terms are absent. Without the initial franchise term length or renewal windows, vendors cannot model when contracts for multi-unit operators might come up for review. There is no data on recent franchise activity—no transfers, no terminations, no renewals on file—to suggest a natural sales trigger. Timing a pitch here requires direct intelligence gathering.
How to read the Famous Dave's Unit FDD
The 2026 FDD is the foundational legal document for this franchise system. It is filed with state franchise regulators and contains the franchisor's representations on fees, obligations, territory, and system-wide data. For software vendors, the FDD is most useful for Items 1 (executives), 8 (procurement restrictions), 11 (mandated suppliers), and 17 (renewal and transfer conditions).
In this case, the FDD is notably sparse. The embedded PDF viewer below provides the full text. We recommend reading it alongside your own discovery calls to validate any assumptions. When the document is silent, the only reliable path is direct conversation with the franchisor or its franchisees. For a ranked list of franchise targets where the tech stack and buyer are already mapped, FranCloud can help.
Questions vendors ask
Famous Dave's Unit, answered from the filing
The 2026 FDD does not list any executive officers or identify a specific software buying center. Vendors will need to conduct direct outreach to the Minong, WI headquarters to map the decision-making structure.
The 2026 FDD contains no mandated or recommended technology vendors. There are no Item 11 signals for a required POS, back-office, or operational system, suggesting an open or undefined tech environment.
The total number of units, including the split between franchised and company-owned locations, is not disclosed in the 2026 FDD. The brand operates in the full-service restaurant segment.
The 2026 FDD does not include an extract from Item 8 regarding procurement restrictions. It is unknown whether the system uses designated suppliers, an approved supplier list, or an open procurement model.
The initial franchise term and renewal conditions are not disclosed in the 2026 FDD. Without term length or Item 17 renewal signals, it is impossible to estimate natural contract review cycles.
The 2026 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the embedded PDF viewer below for the full legal disclosure, which serves as the primary source for all data on this page.
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.
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment Famous Dave's Unit files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
59 operators run 83 mapped locations. 13 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit46
2–9 units13
Top states by locations
| CA | 13 |
|---|---|
| TX | 8 |
| MN | 7 |
| NV | 6 |
| FL | 4 |
Related Full service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.