ges and related equipment and supplies, (2) US Foodservice is the sole source of supply for certain foods, beverages, supplies and smallwares, and other products and services, (3) EcoLab is the sole s
From the filings
Green Mill
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Green Mill is controlled at the headquarters level, with key decision-makers including CEO Paul Dzubnar and COO Timothy Kreiser. The franchise mandates specific systems including KDS QSR Automations and Restaurant365 across its 13 franchised locations. The addressable market is small, with a total of 13 units, all franchised, and a recent unit decline of 18.75% year-over-year.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
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%of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
1 of these are mandated in the franchise agreement. Each is named in Item 11 of the filing, the incumbents a challenger must displace or integrate with.
to $43,400 and is covered by the Technology Fee of 3.99% assessed on all credit card sales. It includes maintenance, hardware, updating, and upgrading for all services other than KDS QSR Automations M
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
31 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 questions the text does not settle, which is not a no.
Accounting
Must the franchisee use an accounting or bookkeeping system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor also requires the use of Restaurant 365, our approved Accounting and Inventory Software system.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee will at all times permit the Franchisor to access the records and information on the Franchisee’s computerized point of sale system and other computer systems, either by direct access, by telephonic modem access, by providing disk copies or by such other means as may be prescribed from time to time by the…
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesItem 6
In addition, you must provide us with unaudited, monthly financial statements within 15 days of the end of each calendar month or period and annual financial statements prepared on a “compilation” basis by your independent public accountant within 90 days after the end of each calendar year.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
In addition, we or our affiliates are the sole source of Opening Team trainers, related labor, and other training materials, all of which you must use in connection with the opening of your restaurant.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
We also have a franchise advisory council (the “FAC”), which currently is comprised of 8 representatives (4 corporate, 4 franchisees).
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to add food products to or delete food products from the standard menu at any time
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
1008291Item 8
Our revenues from all required purchases and leases of products and services to franchisees from suppliers for the year ended December 31, 2024, totaled $1,008,291 or 37.9% of our total revenues of $2,657,168.00 as noted in the financial statements included as an exhibit to this Franchise Disclosure Document.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesFranchise agreement
The Franchisor shall have the right to receive marketing allowances, royalties, commissions, rebates and/or other payments or consideration from approved suppliers and vendors in connection with the sale of goods and services to the Franchisor’s franchisees, including the Franchisee.
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?
80Item 8
We estimate that approximately 65% to 85% of your expenditures for leases and purchases in establishing your Restaurant and approximately 80% on an ongoing basis will be for goods and services which are subject to sourcing restrictions (that is, for which suppliers must be approved by us, or which must meet our…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor may charge Franchisee a reasonable fee for its inspection and testing of products, ingredients, materials and suppliers.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
you may request that we consider approval of different or additional manufacturers, suppliers or products related to the restaurant.
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall adhere to, and cause any service provider of third party-provided payment applications to adhere to cardholder data security standards according to the then current PCI (Payment Card Industry) Data Security Standards.
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall pay Franchisor a predetermined annual fee for this service.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor, its representatives, agents and employees shall be allowed at all times during Franchisee’s regular business hours, with or without prior notice to Franchisee, to inspect and audit the books and records of Franchisee
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 17
However, we may Modification of Paragraphs 7, 10 s. unilaterally amend operating procedures and practices, our the Agreement and 27 artwork, promotional and advertising materials, and other written materials.
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesFranchise agreement
The Franchisee will not purchase, lease or otherwise acquire the Franchised Location until the Franchised Location has been approved by the Franchisor.
Marketing
Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?
YesItem 11
You may not operate or maintain a home page or other presence on the Internet or similar medium without our approval.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 7
At least 30 days before your Green Mill Restaurant opens for business, you must pay us a Grand Opening Allowance in the amount of $25,000.
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
As of the date of this Disclosure Document you are required to spend a combined total of 2% of Gross Sales for the Advertising Fee paid to us and for the required local advertising expenditures.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must enroll in the Ingage Infinity Service Program, the sole technology provider for Franchisee’s POS, Merchant Services, Gift Processing, MSP, Online Ordering, Wi-Fi, Kitchen Display System (KDS), Loyalty, and all other connected services, all in accordance with the then current Ingage I.T. Agreement.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If we form cooperatives, we can require you to join and participate in such cooperative(s) which encompass the designated territory for your Green Mill Restaurant.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees, in particular, to: a. Purchase soft drink syrup, beer, ale, spice blends, certain breads, dough blends, cheese, tomato sauce and sauce blends, and other products and services as Franchisor may from time to time specify, from such source or sources as may be designated from time to time by…
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
As further detailed below, from time to time we, an affiliate, or a third party vendor or supplier may be the only approved supplier for certain products or services.
Payments
Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must enroll in the Ingage Infinity Service Program, the sole technology provider for Franchisee’s POS, Merchant Services, Gift Processing, MSP, Online Ordering, Wi-Fi, Kitchen Display System (KDS), Loyalty, and all other connected services, all in accordance with the then current Ingage I.T. Agreement.
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
All amounts due and payable to Franchisor hereunder shall be made via electronic funds transfer (“EFT”) initiated by Franchisor upon the bank account designated by Franchisee for such transactions.
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesItem 11
You must participate in all gift certificate and gift card programs sponsored at any time by us.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 11
We require you to have on duty at all times while your Green Mill Restaurant is open for business, at least one employee who has been Serv-Safe® certified as to the food safety aspects of handling food.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee must purchase and use any computer system that Franchisor develops or selects for the Franchised Business, including all future updates, supplements and modifications (the “Computer System”).
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We may access the information system and retrieve, analyze, download and use all software, data and files stored or used on the information system.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesItem 11
You must record all sales on information systems that we have approved and report your Gross Sales daily via our intranet.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
Although not required to do so by the Franchise Agreement, our management personnel may also assist you in training additional personnel, or in providing refresher courses to existing personnel at the time of periodic visits.
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 franchisee/operator personally, or a small franchisor still owner-run. Wears every hat.
- 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%.
- 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.
- 97.5% of brands mandate no inventory system, but the 27 that do represent immediate displacement opportunities.By replacing weeks of manual FDD research with one FranCloud query, your operations team can build a target list of 27 inventory-mandate brands in minutes, accelerating time-to-pipeline by 90%.
The vendor opportunity at Green Mill
Green Mill is a quick-service restaurant brand headquartered in Minnesota with a total footprint of 13 units, all of which are franchised. The number of company-owned locations is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. The brand experienced a year-over-year unit decline of 18.75%, signaling a contracting addressable market for software vendors. The royalty rate is 4.0%, and the initial franchise term is 20 years. Average unit volume (AUV) is not disclosed in the 2025 FDD.
For a software vendor, the opportunity here is narrow. With only 13 locations, a typical deal size will be small, and the recent negative growth trajectory suggests that new unit openings—often a catalyst for new software adoption—are unlikely in the near term. The value of targeting Green Mill lies in displacing an incumbent mandated system or selling into a corporate-led refresh cycle.
Who controls software purchasing
Software purchasing authority is centralized at the franchisor level. The FDD lists the following executives in Item 1: Paul Dzubnar (Director, Chairman of the Board, Member and Chief Executive Officer), Michael Drummer (Member, Director and Secretary), Timothy Kreiser (Member and Chief Operating Officer), John Hinz (Member and Chief Marketing Officer), and Ashley MacDonald (Director of Training).
For a technology vendor, the most relevant contacts are likely CEO Paul Dzubnar and COO Timothy Kreiser, who oversee operations and strategic vendor relationships. CMO John Hinz may influence customer-facing or marketing technology decisions. There is no CIO or CTO listed in the FDD, which is consistent with a small franchise system where technology decisions are made by the operations leadership team.
Mandated and current tech stack
The 2025 FDD mandates three specific technology systems. The Ingage Infinity Service Program is a mandated platform, though its specific function (e.g., training, operations, or service management) is not detailed in the extract. KDS QSR Automations is mandated for kitchen display systems. Restaurant365 by Restaurant365 is mandated, likely for accounting, inventory, and back-office operations.
These mandates create both a barrier and an opportunity. A vendor selling a competing accounting or KDS solution must convince a small, centralized leadership team to switch from a mandated system. Conversely, a vendor selling complementary technology that integrates with Restaurant365 or QSR Automations may find a receptive audience if they can demonstrate added value without disrupting the mandated core.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
The FDD does not include an Item 8 extract detailing procurement restrictions, so it is unknown whether Green Mill designates specific suppliers or allows franchisees to purchase from approved alternatives. Given the small system size and the presence of mandated technology, it is reasonable to infer that procurement is tightly controlled by the franchisor.
Renewal conditions are detailed in Item 17. Franchisees must give notice between 6 and 12 months before the end of their initial 20-year term. The renewal term is 10 years, and the franchisor may require a refurbishment within 12 months of renewal. Franchisees must also sign the then-current Franchise Agreement, which may contain materially different terms, including potentially new technology mandates. This creates a periodic window where the franchisor can impose new software requirements on renewing operators. However, with a 20-year initial term and only 13 units, these events will be infrequent.
How to read the Green Mill FDD
The full Green Mill Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. It was filed with state franchise regulators in 2025. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 11 (the source of the mandated technology disclosures above) and Item 1 (the executive team). Item 8, which would detail purchasing restrictions, was not available in our extract, so vendors should review that section directly in the PDF to understand whether there is any path to sell to individual franchisees or if all purchasing flows through HQ.
FranCloud helps software vendors identify and rank franchise systems based on tech stack mandates, decision-maker profiles, and unit economics. If you need a ranked target list tailored to your product category, FranCloud can provide the data foundation for your outbound strategy.
Questions vendors ask
Green Mill, answered from the filing
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
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Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
2 operators run 2 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| MN | 2 |
|---|
Ownership
The portfolio behind Green Mill
single_brand_holdco of Hightop Brands.
Sibling brands
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.