From the filings

HQ-led decisions

Gulf C-Store

Retail food

Software purchasing at Gulf C-Store is controlled at the headquarters level, with the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document listing a tight executive team led by Chairman and CEO Natalie Morhous. The franchise currently operates a small, scattered footprint of approximately 4 units across four states, all company-owned or single-unit franchised, and mandates a loyalty software system. For vendors, this means a concentrated sales motion targeting a nascent but centrally governed brand.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
0
0 franchised
Unit growth YoY
vs prior filing
AUV
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
3%
of gross sales
Ad fund
national + local
Initial fee
$25K
per unit
Investment range
$148K–$652K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
1 years
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. It is a floor, not a total — the filing discloses one of the two headline fees.

3%+of gross sales (FY2025)

Ongoing fees: 3% of gross sales (FY2025)Royalty 3%. Total 3% of gross sales, from the fees this filing discloses. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 3%

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.

RTIRTI
POSItem 1

tes Our direct parent company is Metroplex Energy, Inc., a Georgia corporation (“Metroplex”), which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of RaceTrac, Inc., a Georgia corporation (“RTI”). RW Venture Ho

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

25 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 4 explicit no's; 5 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?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor has the right to electronically obtain information regarding any and all sales and/or cash flow from the Gulf C-Store Business, and Franchisee hereby consents to same.

Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Once a calendar year, Franchisor has the right to request quarterly unaudited financial statements from Franchisee, which Franchisee will provide to Franchisor within forty-five (45) days of the end of such quarter.

How the franchisor buys

Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?

Yes

Item 8

Approved Suppliers may include or be limited to us or our affiliates.

Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?

Yes

Item 11

We have the right to designate the sole supplier or suppliers from whom you are required to acquire the Computer System and its components, which suppliers may include us and/or our affiliates.

How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?

0

Item 8

Because we did not have any franchisees as of the end of 2024, we and our affiliates did not receive any revenue during 2024 from required purchases or leases by franchisees.

Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee understands and agrees that Franchisor and its Affiliates shall be entitled to receive and retain any and all allowances, commissions and rebates paid by manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of products and services to the System and Gulf C-Store Businesses, including all payments made in connection…

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?

100

Item 8

Collectively, the purchases and leases described above are approximately 100% of your overall purchases and leases to establish and operate the Gulf C-Store Business.

Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?

Yes

Item 6

We may charge a reasonable fee to make such evaluation.

Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?

Yes

Item 8

If you propose to use in the operation of the Gulf C-Store Business any brand of inventory items, products, materials, or supplies that are not then approved by us as meeting our specifications, or purchase or lease any inventory items, products, materials, or supplies from a supplier or distributor that we have not…

Communications

Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee acknowledges that as between Franchisor and Franchisee, Franchisor has the sole rights to and interest in all telephone numbers and directory listings associated with any Mark or the Gulf C-Store Business

Data and IT

Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee must always remain in compliance with the PCI Security Standards Council’s Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI-DSS”) and all other applicable rules and requirements as may be promulgated from time to time by the PCI Security Standards Council, by any successor thereto, by any member thereof…

Franchise management

Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee also agrees to present to its customers the evaluation forms that Franchisor periodically specifies and to participate and/or request that Franchisee’s customers participate in any surveys performed by or for Franchisor.

Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?

Yes

Item 11

To determine whether you and the Gulf C-Store Business are complying with the Franchise Agreement, we and our designated agents and representatives may, at all times, and without prior notice, inspect the Gulf C-Store Business, including to determine whether you are maintaining the Required Inventory on the Premises…

Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor shall have the right to add to and otherwise modify the Manuals from time to time to reflect, among other things, changes in authorized services and products, standards of product quality or service or the operation of a Gulf C-Store Business.

Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?

Yes

Item 12

You will operate the C-Store Business at a specific location that we consider to be acceptable (the “Premises”), which location will be identified in the Franchise Agreement.

Marketing

Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?

Yes

Item 11

You shall not establish a separate website without our prior written consent which we have a right to withhold in our sole discretion.

Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee may be required to purchase equipment, software, supplies and/or other materials Franchisor deems necessary in order to participate in any such loyalty programs or initiatives.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

You must use in the operation of the Gulf C-Store Business only those brands and models of FF&E and signage that we have approved for a Gulf C-Store Business as meeting our specifications and standards for, among other elements, design, function, performance, serviceability, and warranties.

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

You may purchase or lease FF&E only from Approved Suppliers.

Payments

Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Its: Its: A-1 Gulf C-Store Franchise Agreement (2025) 1617459534.2 EXHIBIT B ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER FORM ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION AGREEMENT STORE # LOCATION FRANCHISEE TELEPHONE NUMBER ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP Franchisee hereby authorizes Gulf Franchising, Inc., for its own account, to initiate…

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Franchise agreement

(l) use and illumination of signs, posters, displays, standard formats and similar items; and 17 Gulf C-Store Franchise Agreement (2025) 1617459534.2 (m) the offer, sale and acceptance of Gulf gift cards and acceptance of Gulf coupons;

People

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Franchise agreement

(f) uniforms to be worn by and general appearance of employees of Franchisee;

Point of sale

Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You also must have your Computer System installed to enable you to manage the Gulf C-Store Business operations and you must utilize the back-office system we designate and provide to you to facilitate your operation of the Gulf C-store Business.

Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?

Yes

Item 11

There is no contractual limitation on our right to access the information stored on the Computer System.

Training

Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?

Yes

Item 11

We will also have the right to require that the Managing Owner (and other management personnel) and other personnel that we designate complete supplemental and refresher training programs, workshop, and educational seminars during the Term and to charge a reasonable fee for the courses and programs.

The filing answers no to 4 questions
  • Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?Item 11
  • 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

The vendor opportunity at Gulf C-Store

Gulf C-Store is a retail food franchise with a minimal physical footprint: 4 mapped operators across 4 located units, all in the 1-unit band. The brand has no multi-unit franchisees, and the top states by unit count are Minnesota, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Virginia, each with a single location. No year-over-year unit growth rate is disclosed in the 2025 FDD, and the total unit count—franchised versus company-owned—is not broken out. For software vendors, the addressable market is tiny, but the centralized decision-making structure means a single conversation at HQ could cover the entire system.

The brand’s average unit volume (AUV) is not reported, and the royalty rate sits at 3.0% on a 10-year initial term. With no parent company on file, Gulf C-Store appears independently owned, which often correlates with leaner operations and a higher reliance on off-the-shelf or mandated technology to maintain consistency across a small network.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2025 FDD lists five executives in Item 1: Natalie Morhous (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), Karla Ahlert (Chief Financial Officer), Joseph Akers (Chief Legal Officer), Robby Posener (Chief Development Officer), and Melanie Isbill (Chief Brand Officer and Director). No Chief Information Officer or Chief Technology Officer is named, so the buying center for software likely centers on the CEO and CFO, with legal and brand oversight from Akers and Isbill respectively. For a vendor pitching operational or financial software, Karla Ahlert is the most probable day-to-day evaluator, while Natalie Morhous holds ultimate sign-off authority.

Mandated and current tech stack

Item 11 of the FDD mandates loyalty software, though no specific vendor is named. Beyond this, the document is silent on point-of-sale, back-office, inventory, or HR systems. This absence of disclosed tech suggests either a very light stack or a reliance on systems chosen at the operator level—though the HQ mandate for loyalty indicates the franchisor is willing to impose technology standards where it sees strategic value. Vendors selling complementary modules (e.g., POS-integrated loyalty, customer analytics) should position their solutions as natural extensions of this existing mandate.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Item 8 of the FDD provides no extract, leaving the procurement model—designated supplier, approved supplier, or open market—undisclosed. This opacity means vendors must qualify the purchasing process directly with HQ. The renewal structure, detailed in Item 17, offers a 5-year successor term contingent on nine conditions, including refurbishment, performance metrics, and execution of a general release. Renewal notice must be given between 6 and 12 months before the initial 10-year term expires. With only 4 units and no disclosed growth, natural contract renewal cycles are sparse; the most realistic entry point for a new vendor is a top-down technology refresh initiated by the CEO or CFO.

How to read the Gulf C-Store FDD

The full 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document is embedded below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executive team and unit count), Item 11 (mandated loyalty software), and Item 17 (renewal and successor terms). Because the FDD omits unit growth rates, AUV, and a detailed procurement policy, vendors should treat the document as a starting point and validate operational details—such as current POS systems and IT decision-making processes—through direct outreach to the HQ team. For a ranked target list of franchise systems aligned to your software category, FranCloud can help.

Questions vendors ask

Gulf C-Store, answered from the filing

The 2025 FDD lists Natalie Morhous (Chairman and CEO) and Karla Ahlert (CFO) as key executives. No dedicated CIO or CTO is named, so technology decisions likely route through the CEO and CFO.
The FDD mandates loyalty software but does not name a specific vendor. No POS, ERP, or other operational systems are disclosed as mandated or recommended.
Approximately 4 units are mapped across four states: Minnesota, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Virginia. All are single-unit operators; no multi-unit franchisees exist.
The 2025 FDD contains no extract from Item 8, so the procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly disclosed.
The initial franchise term is 10 years. Successor terms run 5 years, with renewal notice required 6–12 months before expiration. Given the small, static unit count, contract windows are infrequent and tied to HQ-driven initiatives.
The 2025 FDD is filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below for detailed Item 1, Item 11, and Item 17 disclosures.
Source

Read the filing itself

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Gulf C-Store2025 FDDView only

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The brands you can actually sell into, from the filings.

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

4 operators run 4 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit4

Top states by locations

MN1
MD1
RI1
VA1

Ownership

The portfolio behind Gulf C-Store

unknown of metroplex energy.

Related Retail food brands

Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.