Technology System
MandatoryWe require you to have a Technology System for the operation of your hoots wings® Restaurant.
HQ-led decisions
Hoots Franchising
Quick service restaurantSoftware purchasing at Hoots Franchising is directed by its Chief Information Officer, Jeff Caplan, according to the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document. The brand mandates a Technology System for its 12 franchised locations, creating a defined addressable market for vendors. With a lean, fully franchised footprint and a parent company (Hawk Parent, LLC), the opportunity centers on a single decision-maker at the Georgia headquarters.
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.
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 the corpus 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%.
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Live signals
Total units
12
12 franchised
Unit growth YoY
—
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
The vendor opportunity at Hoots Franchising
Hoots Franchising operates 12 quick-service restaurant locations, all franchised, with no company-owned units disclosed in the 2023 FDD. The brand is part of Hawk Parent, LLC, and is headquartered in Georgia. For software vendors, the addressable market is small but concentrated: 12 franchised locations under a single franchisor that mandates a Technology System. Average unit volume is not disclosed in the most recent FDD, and year-over-year unit growth is not reported. The royalty rate is 5.0% of gross sales, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years.
Who controls software purchasing
The 2023 FDD names Jeff Caplan as Chief Information Officer. In a system of this size, the CIO is the natural entry point for technology vendors. Other named executives include Sal Melilli (President, Manager and Chief Executive Officer), Larry Linen (Chief Operations Officer), Kevin Vandiver (Chief Procurement Officer), Bruce Skala (Chief Marketing Officer), and Jeff Caplan (Chief Information Officer). No multi-unit operators are mapped in our corpus, so purchasing influence appears centralized at the franchisor level. Vendors should direct initial outreach to the CIO, with the understanding that the Chief Procurement Officer may also play a role in vendor evaluation.
Mandated and current tech stack
The FDD mandates a Technology System for all franchisees. The document does not name a specific point-of-sale vendor, back-office platform, or other operational software by brand. This lack of named vendors in the filing means the current stack is not publicly verifiable through the FDD alone. Vendors should be prepared to ask about the existing Technology System during discovery conversations with the CIO. The mandate signal is strong: franchisees must comply with the system specified by the franchisor, which gives the HQ team direct control over technology adoption across all 12 units.
Procurement, renewals, and timing
Item 8 of the 2023 FDD does not include an extract describing procurement obligations, designated suppliers, or approved-supplier programs. The procurement model is therefore not publicly specified. On renewals, Item 17 outlines a 5-year successor term. To renew, a franchisee must give notice, pay a Successor Franchise Fee equal to 33.3% of the then-current initial franchise fee (or $12,500, if greater), be in compliance with all agreements and manuals, be current on obligations to lessors and suppliers, and enter into the then-current form of franchise agreement. These renewal windows, occurring every 5 years after the initial 10-year term, may create natural points for technology evaluation and vendor switching.
How to read the Hoots Franchising FDD
The full 2023 FDD is embedded below. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (executive team), Item 11 (franchisor’s assistance, including the Technology System mandate), Item 8 (procurement restrictions, though not detailed here), and Item 17 (renewal conditions). Because the system is small and fully franchised, the FDD is the most reliable source for understanding who buys software and under what constraints. For a ranked target list of franchise systems that match your software category, FranCloud can help you prioritize outreach.
Questions vendors ask
Hoots Franchising, answered from the filing
Jeff Caplan, listed as Chief Information Officer in the 2023 FDD, is the named technology executive. The document does not identify additional buying-center members.
The 2023 FDD mandates a Technology System for franchisees. The filing does not name a specific POS vendor or list other operational software by brand.
The 2023 FDD reports 12 total units, all of which are franchised. No company-owned units are disclosed.
The 2023 FDD does not include an Item 8 extract detailing designated or approved suppliers. The procurement structure is not publicly specified in the filing.
The initial franchise term is 10 years. Renewal terms are 5 years, requiring notice, a Successor Franchise Fee (33.3% of the then-current initial fee, or $12,500 minimum), and compliance conditions. Contract windows may align with these cycles.
The 2023 FDD was filed with state franchise regulators. You can review the full document in the embedded PDF viewer below.
Source
Read the filing itself
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FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
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Ownership
The portfolio behind Hoots Franchising
parent_company of Hawk Parent, LLC.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.