From the filings
Software purchasing decisions at Rusty Taco flow through a lean HQ team led by Chairman and CEO Anand Gala and President Daniel Smith. The most recent FDD does not disclose any mandated or recommended technology systems, leaving the tech stack open. With 26 total units and an average unit volume of $939,635, the addressable market is small but concentrated, with 25 franchised locations operated by a mix of single-unit and multi-unit operators.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
Ongoing fee load
The recurring percentage of gross sales named in this filing, before rent, labour or any technology fee.
7%of gross sales (FY2026)
15% reference
Franchisor behaviours
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
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesFranchise agreement
You must take all steps necessary to enable us to have independent, remote, unlimited access to any data designated by Franchisor that is collected, stored, or processed through the Computer System, including information regarding your Gross Sales, customer information, service
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Within 30 days following the end of each calendar quarter, you must provide us a copy of your profit and loss statements prepared according to generally accepted accounting principles and which accurately reflect your financial information for the applicable accounting periods.
How the franchisor buys
Is there a franchisee advisory council, association or committee?
YesItem 11
We have formed a Franchise Advisory Council (“FAC”) that advises us on advertising policies.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may, with or without cause, revoke our approval of any supplier or product at any time.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
During fiscal year 2025, neither we nor our affiliates received any revenue from direct sale of products or services to Rusty Taco Restaurant franchisees; however, we received $25,671 (1.2 % of our total revenue of $2,157,809) from third-party vendors on account of purchases made by our franchisees.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
During fiscal year 2025, neither we nor our affiliates received any revenue from direct sale of products or services to Rusty Taco Restaurant franchisees; however, we received $25,671 (1.2 % of our total revenue of $2,157,809) from third-party vendors on account of purchases made by our franchisees.
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?
90Item 8
We estimate that approximately 90% to 95% of your initial investment and 90% to 95% of your ongoing expenditure to operate your Restaurant will be directed to purchase products and services that will be restricted by us in some manner.
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
In order to evaluate your proposed alternate supplier, you must pay us our supplier evaluation fee of $2,500 per request and reimburse the costs incurred by us in evaluating a proposed new vendor/supplier.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesFranchise agreement
However, if you would like us to consider approving or designating a supplier, vendor or distributor for Items for which there is not then a Designated Supplier or an alternative to a Designated Supplier, you shall submit a written request for our approval.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesItem 17
Franchisee’s Article 14 You must cease use of our Marks, de-identify, assign the lease obligations on for your Restaurant, pay all amounts due to us, and return the termination or Operations Manual and other Confidential Information to us. nonrenewal We may, at our option, assume all telephone numbers for your…
Data and IT
Must the franchisee comply with PCI, data-security or cybersecurity standards set by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
comply with and meet or exceed all industry standards applicable to the protection of customer privacy and credit card information, including standards developed by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) council or its successor and other regulations and industry standards, the Fair and Accurate…
Franchise management
Must the franchisee participate in a customer-satisfaction or net-promoter survey program?
YesFranchise agreement
You agree to present to your customers the evaluation forms that we may prescribe and to participate in and request your customers to participate in any surveys performed by or for us.
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
We and our designated representatives have the right before you open your Restaurant for business and thereafter from time to time during your regular business hours, and without prior notice to you, to inspect and evaluate your Restaurant, observe, photograph, and record (both audio and video) your Restaurant’s…
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesFranchise agreement
We may, from time to time, modify and vary the requirements applicable to the System, the Standards, the Operations Manual, individual Rusty Taco Restaurants, and the products and services that may be offered by Rusty Taco Restaurants (including the addition, deletion, and modification of menu items, operating…
Must the franchisor approve the franchisee's site or location before opening?
YesItem 11
You must identify a suitable site for your Restaurant, obtain our approval of the proposed site for your Restaurant, and acquire possession of the site (upon our approval) within 180 days after we and you enter into 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?
YesFranchise agreement
You may not, without our prior written consent, develop, maintain or authorize any Online Presence that mentions your Restaurant, links to any System Website, or displays any of the Marks.
Is the franchisee required to spend a minimum amount on local advertising or marketing, as a percentage of sales or a fixed amount?
YesItem 11
The current Local Advertising spending requirement is 2% of your Restaurant’s Gross Sales.
Must the franchisee participate in a customer loyalty or rewards program?
YesFranchise agreement
You shall participate in and offer to your customers: (a) all customer loyalty and reward programs;
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease all Operating Assets from those suppliers or distributors that we designate or approve, which may include or be limited to us or our affiliates.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You must purchase or lease all Operating Assets from those suppliers or distributors that we designate or approve, which may include or be limited to us or our affiliates.
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesItem 6
All amounts described above are (i) collected by, and payable to, us via electronic funds transfer or such other means that we may designate from time to time, and (ii) non-refundable.
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 15
Your Operating Principal must be a natural person, who is approved by us and must own at least a 10% direct or indirect ownership interest in you.
Must employees wear uniforms specified by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You shall cause all employees, while working at the Restaurant, to wear uniforms of such color, design, and other specifications as we may designate from time to time, and present a neat and clean appearance.
Point of sale
Must the franchisee use a specific point-of-sale system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
You shall acquire and use only the point-of-sale cash registers and computer systems and equipment that we prescribe for use by Rusty Taco® Restaurants (“Computer System”)
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
You must take all steps necessary to enable us to have independent, remote, unlimited access to any data designated by us that is collected, stored, or processed through the Computer System
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesItem 11
We may charge a fee of $400 per trainer per day for providing any additional or remedial training to your required trainees, and if such training is provided at your Restaurant then we may also require you to reimburse us for the out-of-pocket costs for travel, lodging, and dining that are incurred by our personnel.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesFranchise agreement
attend, and cause your Operating Principal to attend, at your cost, our annual meeting of franchisees;
Who buys here
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 franchisor's owner/CEO decides; an ops or franchise-development lead may evaluate.
Rusty Taco is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in Texas with 26 total units, 25 of which are franchised. The brand generated an average unit volume of $939,635, according to the 2026 FDD. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is limited to these 26 locations, and the opportunity is contracting: year-over-year unit growth declined by 19.4%. The operator base consists of 31 mapped operators, 10 of whom are multi-unit operators, spread primarily across Nebraska (10 units), Texas (9), Idaho (6), Ohio (5), and Utah (4). No single operator controls more than 9 units, and the largest segment—21 operators—runs a single location. This fragmented, small-footprint structure means a sale to the franchisor does not guarantee chain-wide adoption, but winning HQ endorsement is the most efficient path to the franchisee base.
The buying center at Rusty Taco is small and centralized. The FDD lists Anand Gala as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Daniel Smith as President. These two executives are the most likely final decision-makers for any enterprise-level software purchase. Denise Fenton, Brand Director and Director of Franchise Growth at Gala Capital Partners, is a key influencer for growth and marketing technology. Dustin Drago, Senior Director of Operations, is the probable owner of operational tools, while Sherry Elbow, Director of Marketing, would evaluate customer-facing and marketing platforms. The company-owned unit count is just one, so the franchisor’s direct operational footprint is minimal. Vendors should prepare to demonstrate value to both the HQ team and the 31 independent operators, particularly the 10 multi-unit franchisees who control more than one location.
The 2026 FDD does not capture any mandated or recommended technology systems. No point-of-sale vendor, online ordering platform, or back-of-house system is named in the available extracts. This absence of a mandated stack means franchisees likely select their own technology, creating a fragmented environment. For a vendor, this is both a challenge and an opening: there is no incumbent to displace at the franchisor level, but adoption requires selling to individual operators. If you can demonstrate a clear ROI against a $939,635 AUV and a 5% royalty burden, you may find receptive franchisees who are not locked into a corporate tech mandate.
Procurement rules at Rusty Taco are not disclosed in the FDD extracts. It is unknown whether the franchisor requires franchisees to purchase from designated suppliers, maintains an approved supplier list, or permits open purchasing. The initial franchise term is also not specified in the available data, and no renewal or transfer signals were captured. This lack of contractual visibility makes it difficult to predict natural software evaluation windows. Given the recent unit contraction, the brand is likely focused on stabilizing operations rather than large-scale technology overhauls. Vendors should approach with a light-touch, ROI-driven pilot proposal rather than an enterprise-wide platform pitch.
The Franchise Disclosure Document is the single most important research asset for any vendor evaluating a franchise prospect. Item 11 details the franchisor’s obligations regarding technology, equipment, and supplies—this is where mandated POS or software systems would be listed. Item 19 contains the financial performance representations, including the AUV cited here. Item 8 outlines purchasing requirements. Because the available extracts for Rusty Taco do not include these sections in detail, vendors should review the full FDD below to identify any undisclosed mandates or supplier relationships. The document was filed with state franchise regulators in 2026. For a ranked list of franchise targets matched to your software category, FranCloud can build a prioritized pipeline from FDD data across thousands of brands.
Questions vendors ask
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FDD alert
We’ll email you the moment Rusty Taco files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
25 operators run 31 mapped locations. 4 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| TX | 9 |
|---|---|
| NE | 4 |
| AZ | 3 |
| OH | 3 |
| GA | 2 |
Ownership
unknown of rusty taco franchising.
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated June 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.