AlohaNCR Voyix
Mandatoryrams during the term of the Franchise Agreement as required by us. A general description of the components of the Technology System is: - POS system. The current standard is NCR’s Aloha for Table
From the filings
+33.333% units YoYHQ-led decisions
Hoots Franchising
Quick service restaurantHoots Franchising's 2023 FDD covers 14 US quick-service units — 12 franchised, 2 company-owned — operating under Hooters. Olo is mandated for online ordering, DoorDash is required for delivery, and the system grew 33% year over year.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Total units
14
12 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+33.333%
vs prior filing
AUV
—
Item 19, 2023
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
—
per unit
Investment range
$415K–$1.13M
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Approved supplier
from the filing
Non-compete
2 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, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
7%of gross sales (FY2023)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
3 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.
NCRNCR Voyix
Mandatorye programs during the term of the Franchise Agreement as required by us. A general description of the components of the Technology System is: - POS system. The current standard is NCR’s Aloha for Tabl
OloOlo
Mandatoryine ordering system, currently provided by OlO and management by us. The OlO system is directly integrated to POS System for pickup and delivery of customer orders. Currently, the OlO system requires
DoorDashDoorDash
uests give and that are charged to the guests’ credit or debit cards. Service fees and commissions to the Third-Party Delivery Providers are not excluded from Gross Sales (such as DoorDash or Uber Eat
FacebookMeta
h in the Manuals or otherwise in writing by us. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, I
InstagramMeta
otherwise in writing by us. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest,
NCR Back OfficeNCR Voyix
cription of the components of the Technology System is: - POS system. The current standard is NCR’s Aloha for Table Service POS System, with at least 5 terminals per restaurant. - NCR Back Office (“NB
PinterestPinterest
in writing by us. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat,
PunchhPAR Technology
k Office (“NBO”) for inventory and labor management. - Pulse Realtime App for managers and operations Management - Aloha Insights for store reporting. - OlO for online ordering. - Punchh Loyalty and M
SnapchatSnapchat
by us. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, et
TikTokTikTok
ital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.), appli
TwitterX
anuals or otherwise in writing by us. Digital Marketing. We or our affiliates, in our sole discretion, may establish and operate websites, social media accounts (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
Uber EatsUber
erated since July 2020 and January 2021, and Hooters Franchisor expanded each to the full company owned system in April 2021 using third-party delivery services such as Door Dash, Uber Eats and Grub H
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
29 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 1 explicit no; 4 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
You must comply with the daily accounting and reporting procedures we prescribe, as modified from time to time, and will purchase the accounting and reporting equipment, including, without limitation, point of sale equipment, that we require.
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 10
We currently require you to provide us continuous uninterrupted “24/7” independent access to your Computer System to monitor your social media, sales, receivables and other financial and operational data we designate.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
(ii) profit and loss statements and balance sheets prepared in a form that we will designate and in accordance with generally-accepted accounting principles consistently applied for each accounting period, so that we actually receives such information by the end of fifteen (15) 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 8
But we are an Approved Supplier for certain marketing materials, gift cards, and distribution services.
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesFranchise agreement
you will become a “Member” of and participate in a local advertising group (the “Local Advertising Association” or the “LAA”) which will conduct and administer media advertising, promotion, marketing and public relations (“Advertising and Marketing”) for the benefit of the hoots wings restaurant located in the…
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We reserve the right to modify these restrictions, sources, suppliers, products, and services as we deem appropriate, in our sole discretion.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
We and our affiliates did not earn any revenue from required franchise purchases or leases in our prior fiscal year.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and our affiliates have rebate or other remuneration programs with certain Approved Suppliers to company-owned and franchised hoots wings® Restaurants.
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?
50Item 8
All of your required purchases, which include items you must purchase from us or any affiliate or Approved Supplier of ours, and items you must purchase in accordance with our specifications, will represent about 90% to 95% of your total purchases in connection with the establishment of your hoots wings® Restaurant…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
You or the supplier must pay us a fee, the amount of which will not exceed our cost of inspection and testing.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 8
If you would like to purchase a Restaurant Item from a supplier that we have not approved, you must: (i) submit a written request to us for our consent to use the supplier;
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Immediately take all action required (i) to cancel all assumed name or equivalent registrations relating to your use of the Marks and (ii) to cancel or transfer to us or our designee all authorized and unauthorized domain names, social media accounts, telephone numbers, post office boxes, and classified and other…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesItem 10
We require that all franchisees maintain Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“DSS”) compliance as required.
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesItem 10
You must honor rebates, giveaways, discounts, incentives and promotions that are issued by other franchisees.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
We and our designated agents will have the right, at all times, to examine and copy, at our expense, the books, records, tax returns, and tax filings of you and the Franchised Business.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We may make additions to, deletions from, and modifications to the Manuals (“Supplements”) or System Standards from time to time in any form or fashion
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 12
The franchise is granted for a specific Site that must be approved by us.
Marketing
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesFranchise agreement
You must spend at least $10,000 in Grand Opening Marketing Expenses (the “Grand Opening Marketing Expense”) to promote the grand opening of the Franchised Business.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesFranchise agreement
You must spend each calendar year at least a percentage of the Gross Sales of the Franchised Business on qualifying local advertising and promotion as we may designate from time to time (the “Minimum Local Advertising Expenditure”).
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesItem 10
We may require you to honor rebates, giveaways, discounts, incentives and promotions in accordance with reasonable marketing programs, loyalty programs or customer survey/research programs that we establish from time to time.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesFranchise agreement
If a local advertising cooperative or LAA (defined below) is established for an area that includes your Protected Area (the “Designated Area”), you will be required to contribute to it an amount determined by the local or regional advertising cooperative as set forth in this Section 11.4
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesFranchise agreement
furnishings, fixtures, signage, inventory, ingredients, equipment, and other items required for the operation of the Franchised Business (“Restaurant Items”), solely from suppliers (including manufacturers, distributors, and other sources), that demonstrate, to our continuing sole satisfaction, the ability to meet…
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase certain branded and non-branded Restaurant Items we designate in the Manuals which meet our System Standards, even if we do not specify an Approved Supplier.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
You will pay to us all amounts owed under this Agreement by Automatic Clearing House payment (“ACH Payment”).
Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?
YesFranchise agreement
Additionally, you must sell, issue, and redeem gift cards (“Gift Cards”) and (whether as a part of, or separate from, Gift Cards) loyalty cards (“Loyalty Cards”) that have been prepared utilizing the standard form of Gift Card or Loyalty Card provided or designated by us, and only in the manner specified in the…
People
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
To require clean uniforms conforming to such specifications as to color, design, and like factors as we may designate from time to time, to be worn by all of your personnel at all times while working at, in, through, or on behalf of the Franchised Business
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You must record all sales on the computer-based point of sale system specified by us in the Manuals or otherwise in writing, which will be deemed part of your Computer System.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 10
We currently require you to provide us continuous uninterrupted “24/7” independent access to your Computer System to monitor your social media, sales, receivables and other financial and operational data we designate.
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
We may, from time to time, conduct conferences, conventions, programs, webinars, teleconferences, or additional or refresher training sessions on any matters related to the System (“Additional Programs”).
The filing answers no to 1 question
- Is the franchisee prohibited from operating its own website or social media accounts, or required to use pages the franchisor provides?Item 10
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.
OwnerCEOPresidentPrincipal
- 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 Hoots Franchising
Hoots Franchising's 2023 FDD covers 14 US units — 12 franchised, 2 company-owned — operating under parent Hooters. Units grew 33% year over year, the fastest growth rate in this batch. The FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation.
Who controls software purchasing
HQ has a dedicated technology seat: CIO Jeff Caplan, alongside Chief Procurement Officer Kevin Vandiver, CEO and President Sal Melilli, COO Larry Linen, and CMO Bruce Skala. Of the 4 mapped operators, 2 run more than one unit, concentrated in Texas (6), Illinois (3), and Florida (2).
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required
Item 10 mandates Olo for online ordering — the one required system in this filing. The FDD also names Aloha, Baseline, NCR, and NCR Back Office (all under NCR Voyix), plus Facebook and Instagram (Meta), though none of them is required. Item 6 separately mandates DoorDash for delivery.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 runs an approved-supplier-list model: franchisees must buy distribution services, training services, marketing materials, gift cards, and certain software from the franchisor or its affiliate, though they may propose alternate suppliers for approval. The initial term is 10 years, with 5-year renewals that require a successor franchise fee of 33.3% of the current initial fee (or $12,500, whichever is greater).
How to read the Hoots Franchising FDD
The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2023. Use the embedded PDF viewer below to read Items 6, 8, 10, and 17 in full.
Talk to FranCloud for a ranked list of franchise systems that match this profile.
Questions vendors ask
Hoots Franchising, answered from the filing
Hoots Franchising's HQ team includes CIO Jeff Caplan and Chief Procurement Officer Kevin Vandiver, alongside CEO Sal Melilli and COO Larry Linen — a structure built for centralized tech and procurement decisions under parent Hooters.
Item 10 mandates Olo for online ordering. Aloha, Baseline, NCR, and NCR Back Office (all NCR Voyix) plus Facebook and Instagram (Meta) are named in the filing but not required. Item 6 separately mandates DoorDash for delivery.
Hoots Franchising runs 14 US units — 12 franchised, 2 company-owned — with the largest cluster in Texas (6), followed by Illinois (3) and Florida (2).
Hoots runs an approved-supplier-list model: franchisees must buy distribution services, training services, marketing materials, gift cards, and certain software from the franchisor or its affiliate. Franchisees may propose alternate suppliers for approval.
The initial term is 10 years with 5-year renewals. Renewal requires a successor franchise fee of 33.3% of the current initial fee (or $12,500, whichever is greater) and signing the then-current agreement — a reset point for vendor contracts.
The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2023. Use the embedded PDF viewer below to read the full document, including Items 6, 8, 10, and 17.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
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Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
4 operators run 13 mapped locations. 2 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Single-unit2
2–9 units2
Top states by locations
| TX | 6 |
|---|---|
| IL | 3 |
| FL | 2 |
| WI | 1 |
| NJ | 1 |
Ownership
The portfolio behind Hoots Franchising
holding_vehicle of Hooters.
Sibling brands
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.