Makers Union

The vendor opportunity at Makers Union

Makers Union is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in Virginia. According to its 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the brand operates exactly 3 units, all of which are company-owned. No franchised locations exist yet, and year-over-year unit growth is not disclosed. For software vendors, this means the total addressable market is currently 3 locations — a very small footprint that likely makes Makers Union a low-priority target for most enterprise SaaS sellers.

That said, the brand’s FDD reveals a centralized decision-making structure and a clear technology mandate, which means any future growth will be tightly controlled from HQ. If Makers Union begins franchising, the executive team listed in the FDD will almost certainly drive all software purchasing decisions.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2025 FDD lists five individuals in its Item 1 disclosures: Warren M. Thompson (Director), Benita Thompson Byas (Director), Joe Lawler (Chief Financial Officer), Alex Berentzen (Chief Operating Officer), and Mark Copanzzi (Vice President of Operations). For a vendor selling financial, operational, or HR software, the most relevant contacts are Joe Lawler (CFO) and Alex Berentzen (COO). Mark Copanzzi, as VP of Operations, likely influences store-level technology decisions, including POS, scheduling, and inventory management.

Because Makers Union has no franchisees, there is no multi-unit operator (MUO) layer to navigate. All purchasing authority sits at HQ. This is a classic top-down sales environment: you need to win over one or two executives to land the entire system.

Mandated and current tech stack

Item 11 of the FDD mandates a “Technology System” for all franchisees, though the document does not name the vendor for that system. It does, however, specifically mandate Toast POS by Toast, Inc. This is a concrete signal: Toast is already embedded in Makers Union’s operations. Any vendor selling adjacent solutions — labor scheduling, inventory, accounting, or guest engagement — should ensure integration compatibility with Toast’s ecosystem.

The FDD does not disclose any other mandated or recommended software vendors. There is no mention of back-office, payroll, or loyalty platforms. This could mean those decisions are left to individual operators, or it could simply mean the brand hasn’t formalized those mandates yet. Given the small unit count, the latter is more likely.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

Makers Union’s FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so the procurement model — whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open — is not publicly known. This is a gap for vendors who need to understand how to get on an approved list. In practice, with only 3 company-owned units, procurement is probably handled informally by the executive team rather than through a structured RFP process.

The franchise agreement includes renewal terms of 5 years, with conditions that require franchisees to sign the then-current form of agreement and refurbish their locations. However, since there are no franchisees today, renewal windows are not a useful timing signal. Any software evaluation at Makers Union will be driven by internal HQ initiatives, not franchise lifecycle events.

How to read the Makers Union FDD

The full 2025 Makers Union Franchise Disclosure Document is available below. This filing contains the brand’s audited financials, franchise agreement, and all mandated supplier disclosures. For software vendors, the most relevant sections are Item 11 (mandated technology), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), and Item 1 (executive team). Because Makers Union is a small, independently owned concept, the FDD is relatively concise and easy to parse. If you’re evaluating whether this brand fits your ideal customer profile, FranCloud can help you benchmark it against thousands of other franchise systems and surface the ones with the right tech mandates, unit counts, and decision-maker structures for your product.