From the filings

+12% units YoYHQ-led decisions

Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls

Quick service restaurant

Software purchasing at Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls is controlled at the headquarters level by a small executive team led by President Daniel Beck and COO Rusty Kurtov. The brand currently mandates Baseline and Sysco as part of its tech stack. With 32 total units and 12% year-over-year unit growth, the addressable market for vendors is a compact but expanding 28-unit franchise system.

For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.

Live signals

Total units
32
28 franchised
Unit growth YoY
+12%
vs prior filing
AUV
$665K
Item 19, 2025
Royalty
5%
of gross sales
Ad fund
2%
national + local
Initial fee
$35K
per unit
Investment range
$241K–$629K
all-in, Item 7
Procurement
Franchisor controlled
from the filing
Non-compete
2 years
from the filing
Item 19
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 (FY2025)

Ongoing fees: 7% of gross sales (FY2025)Royalty 5%, Ad fund 2%. Total 7% of gross sales. Drawn against a 15% reference scale.

15% reference

Royalty 5%Ad fund 2%

Mandated & recommended tech

The systems vendors compete with

2 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.

Baseline
Mandatory
POSItem 5

e, or our designated supplier a non- refundable start-up marketing fee in the amount of $3,500 (the “Start-Up Marketing Fee”). The Start-Up Marketing Fee will be used to provide a baseline of marketin

Sysco
Mandatory
InventoryItem 8

al benefits from suppliers based on your purchases and we reserve the right to institute and expand rebate programs in the future. During the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, Sysco paid us $203,1

Franchisor behaviours

What the franchisor requires

27 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 3 explicit no's; 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?

Yes

Franchise agreement

At all times, Franchisee shall exclusively use the Business Management Systems designated by Franchisor, in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business Judgment, and as may be modified, supplemented or replaced by Franchisor from time to time.

Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?

Yes

Franchise agreement

At all times, Franchisee shall provide and permit Franchisor to maintain direct and independent access to the Business Management System and Franchisee shall electronically transfer and transmit to Franchisor all Business Management System Data;

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

within 15 days of the end of each calendar month Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor monthly financial statements and other reports related to the operations of the Franchised business

How the franchisor buys

Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?

Yes

Item 11

We may use the Brand Development Fund for market studies, research, service development, product development, testing, research studies, technology development, advertising and public relations studies or services, creative production and printing of advertising and marketing materials, advertising copy and…

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor, in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business Judgment, may from time to time modify the list of approved brands, suppliers and distributors of System Supplies and approved equipment, supplies and services to be utilized by the Franchised Business

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

Yes

Item 8

We and/or our affiliates may receive rebates, payments and other material benefits from suppliers based on your purchases and we reserve the right to institute and expand rebate programs in the future.

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?

60

Item 8

We estimate that your purchase of goods and services from suppliers according to our specifications, including your purchase of goods or services from our designated exclusive suppliers, to represent approximately 80% of your total purchases and leases in establishing the Franchised Business and approximately 60% of…

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

Yes

Item 8

We may charge you a fee equal to the costs and expenses that we incur in reviewing and evaluating an alternate supplier, product, and/or service requested by you.

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

Yes

Item 8

If you want to purchase or lease a source restricted item from a supplier that has not been previously approved or designated by us in writing, you must send us a written request for approval and submit additional information, samples, and testing data that we may request.

Communications

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

In the event of the termination of this Agreement, for any reason, that the accounts related to all telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business and all rights in and to the telephone numbers associated with the Franchised Business, shall, at Franchisor’s election, be transferred to Franchisor.

Franchise management

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

Yes

Item 6

You must subscribe to and participate in the customer review tracking and reputation management services and providers that we designate.

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisor has the right at any and all times during business hours, throughout the terms of this Agree and without prior notice to Franchisee, to inspect Franchisee’s Restaurant.

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

Yes

Item 11

At all times, we reserve the right to supplement, modify and update the Manuals.

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

Yes

Item 11

Although you are responsible for selecting a site for your Restaurant Location you must obtain our approval of your Restaurant Location.

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 may not use any websites, web-based media or digital media unless expressly approved by us in writing.

Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?

Yes

Franchise agreement

Not less than 30 days prior to the opening of the Franchised Business, Franchisee shall spend not less than $3,500 to market and promote the grand opening of the Franchised Business in accordance with Franchisor’s standards and specifications.

Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?

Yes

Item 11

On an on-going and monthly basis, you must spend not less than 1% of your monthly Gross Sales on the local marketing of your Restaurant.

Operations

Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?

Yes

Item 8

You must purchase the System Supplies, as designated by us, from us, our affiliates, and/or our designated suppliers.

Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?

Yes

Item 8

You may only use those products, supplies, equipment, technology systems, and services that we authorize and designate in writing.

Payments

Must the franchisee use a payment processor or merchant-services provider designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated supplier and vendor for credit card processing which may be integrated with the point of sale system that we designate.

Must the franchisee participate in a gift card program?

Yes

Item 8

You must use our designated supplier and vendor for the ability to access and use online, point of sale integrated, web based, and/or app based, 16 Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls FDD May 21, 2025 ordering, customer rewards, and/or gift card systems.

People

Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?

Yes

Item 15

At all times, your Restaurant must be managed and supervised on-site by either a Managing Owner or Operating Manager.

Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 11

For the protection of the System, you must ensure that all employees wear and maintain the proper uniforms with our approved System branded apparel and uniforms including, but not limited to, the apparel and uniforms comprising System Supplies.

Point of sale

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

Yes

Item 8

Currently you are required to purchase, license and utilize a Toast point of sale system with at least two configured hardware terminals.

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

At all times, Franchisee shall provide and permit Franchisor to maintain direct and independent access to the Business Management System and Franchisee shall electronically transfer and transmit to Franchisor all Business Management System Data;

Sales and CRM

Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?

Yes

Item 8

You may only use those products, supplies, equipment, technology systems, and services that we authorize and designate in writing.

Training

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

Yes

Franchise agreement

Franchisee or, if Franchisee is a Corporate Entity, Franchisee’s Managing Owner and Manager, at Franchisee’s sole cost and expense, must attend and successfully complete all refresher training courses or system-wide training courses, additional training programs and seminars as Franchisor periodically may designate…

The filing answers no to 3 questions
  • Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?Item 8
  • Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?Item 11
  • Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?Item 11

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.

Sales LeaderEmerging 20 99

The franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.

VP SalesHead of SalesCROSales Director
  1. 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%.
  2. 82.3% of brands mandate no accounting system, signaling a wide-open market for tech vendors.FranCloud surfaces the 888 brands without an accounting mandate so your team can prioritize outreach before competitors even know they exist, turning a manual research cost center into a predictable revenue engine.
  3. 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.

The vendor opportunity at Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls

Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in Maryland with a total footprint of 32 units, 28 of which are franchised. The brand posted a 12% year-over-year unit growth rate in its latest filing, signaling a system in active expansion mode. For a software vendor, the immediate addressable market is those 28 franchised locations, though the four company-owned units may also fall under any HQ-mandated technology decisions. The average unit volume sits at $665,073, and franchisees operate on a 5.0% royalty model under a 10-year initial term.

Who controls software purchasing

Purchasing authority is not distributed across a large multi-unit operator base. The FDD maps 29 operators, and every single one is a single-unit operator. This structure pushes technology decisions to the top. The executive team listed in Item 1 includes President Daniel Beck and Chief Operating Officer Rusty Kurtov. For a vendor, the path to a sale runs directly through this small HQ group, not through a fragmented network of franchisee influencers. Vice President of Franchise Development Dane Cherry and Director of Franchise Expansion Louis Termini are also named, indicating that growth-related tools may fall under their purview.

Mandated and current tech stack

The 2025 FDD explicitly mandates two systems: Baseline and Sysco. Baseline likely serves as the brand's operational or financial backbone, while Sysco is a mandated supply chain partner, which may include an integrated ordering platform. No other POS, payroll, or scheduling vendors are named as mandated in the disclosure. This leaves potential whitespace for vendors offering complementary solutions that integrate with a Baseline-Sysco core, provided they can demonstrate value to the HQ decision-makers.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

The FDD does not include an extract from Item 8, so the specific procurement model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. On the renewal side, the contract structure offers clear timing signals. The initial 10-year term can be followed by two additional five-year renewal terms. To renew, a franchisee must provide 180 days' prior written notice, sign the then-current form of Franchise Agreement, and remodel the restaurant to meet current standards. This remodel trigger and the signing of a materially different current agreement create a natural inflection point where new technology mandates can be introduced system-wide.

How to read the Mason's Famous Lobster Rolls FDD

The full Franchise Disclosure Document provides the legal and operational blueprint you need to qualify this brand as a prospect. The embedded viewer below contains the complete filing, where you can verify unit counts, audit the Item 11 tech mandates, and study the Item 17 renewal conditions in full detail. For vendors building a ranked target list of franchise systems, this level of specificity is what separates a cold pitch from a well-timed conversation. When you're ready to prioritize brands by tech mandate, decision-maker concentration, and growth rate, FranCloud can help you build that list.

Questions vendors ask

Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls, answered from the filing

The buying center is concentrated in the C-suite. President Daniel Beck and COO Rusty Kurtov are the key executives listed in the FDD; they are the most likely decision-makers for any software pitch.
The 2025 FDD mandates Baseline and Sysco. No other specific operational or POS systems are named as mandated in the most recent disclosure.
There are 32 total units: 28 franchised and 4 company-owned. The brand operates in the quick-service restaurant segment, with the heaviest concentration in Florida (8 units).
The procurement model is not detailed in the available FDD extract. Item 8, which would specify designated or approved suppliers, was not disclosed in the provided data.
The initial franchise term is 10 years, with two optional 5-year renewal terms. Renewal requires 180 days' written notice, creating a predictable window for re-evaluating operational tech before a new agreement is signed.
The FDD was filed with state franchise regulators in 2025. You can review the full document using the embedded PDF viewer below to conduct your own detailed analysis.
Source

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

Operator footprint

Who runs the locations

29 operators run 29 mapped locations. 0 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.

Operators by units owned

Single-unit29

Top states by locations

FL8
MD5
VA5
NC3
DC2

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