ies, paper products, and cleaning materials and supplies. These products will be purchased directly from our affiliate, Nova Concept Inc, as well as through our required supplier, Sysco Corporation. N
From the filings
The Alley
Quick service restaurantChairman and CEO Mao-Ting Chiu and Operation Manager Jenny He are the two officers named in Item 2 at The Alley, a 9-unit system where Item 8 runs procurement through an approved-supplier list. The FDD names Sysco in Item 7 without any accompanying purchase requirement, and the system doubled in unit count year over year.
For software vendors selling into US franchise brands.
Live signals
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.
6%of gross sales (FY2025)
15% reference
Mandated & recommended tech
The systems vendors compete with
Systems named in Item 11 of this filing. None is recorded as mandated here, which is not the same as the filing mandating nothing. Read Item 11 before treating the category as open.
Franchisor behaviours
What the franchisor requires
28 requirements the franchisor states in this filing, each in its own words; 6 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
Implement and maintain, at Franchisee’s expense, a bookkeeping, accounting, and record keeping system conforming to the requirements and formats Franchisor prescribes from time to time in Franchisor’s Reasonable Business Judgment;
Does the franchisor have direct or independent electronic access to the franchisee's financial, sales or customer records?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to all of the information and data that is electronically transmitted on your point of sale system and will have access to all data related to the financial performance of your Restaurant.
Must the franchisee submit periodic financial statements (monthly, quarterly or annual) to the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee shall submit to Franchisor, in the form Franchisor reasonably prescribes, an unaudited monthly profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the Franchised Business within sixty (60) days after the end of each month during the Term.
How the franchisor buys
Is the franchisor or an affiliate itself a supplier of required products, services or systems?
YesItem 8
Currently, you are required to purchase products and materials needed in your franchised business directly from our affiliate, Nova Concepts Inc.
Does the franchisor reserve the right to change designated suppliers or systems at any time?
YesItem 8
We may designate a supplier (which may include us or our affiliates) as the exclusive supplier for the System.
How much revenue did the franchisor and its affiliates earn from franchisee purchases in the last fiscal year?
0Item 8
In our most recent fiscal year ending December 31, 2022, we did not receive revenue from suppliers of franchisee purchases of source restricted products or services.
Does the franchisor or an affiliate receive rebates, commissions or other revenue from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
We and/or our affiliates may receive rebates, payments and other material benefits from suppliers based on franchisee 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?
80Item 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 eighty percent (80%) of your total purchases and leases in establishing the Franchised Business and…
Does the franchisor charge a fee to evaluate a proposed supplier?
YesItem 8
We may charge you a fee equal to the costs and expenses that we incur in reviewing and/or evaluating an alternate supplier, product, and/or service requested by you.
Can a franchisee propose a new supplier for the franchisor's approval?
YesItem 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 that we may request.
Communications
Does the franchisor own or control the business telephone numbers, or take them over when the agreement ends?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisee agrees that 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…
Franchise management
Does the franchisor conduct periodic inspections, audits or evaluations of the franchised business?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor has the right at any time during business hours, and without prior notice to Franchisee, to inspect Franchisee’s Restaurant Facility.
Can the franchisor change the operations manual and brand standards unilaterally?
YesItem 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?
YesItem 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?
YesItem 11
You may not utilize any websites, web based media or digital media unless expressly approved by us in writing.
Is a minimum grand opening advertising spend required?
YesItem 6
You must spend not less than Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000) toward the marketing and promotion of the grand opening of your Restaurant.
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
You are required to engage in local marketing and you are required to commit and spend an amount equal to no less than one percent (1%) of your monthly Gross Sales on your local marketing efforts.
Must the franchisee participate in a regional advertising cooperative when one exists?
YesItem 11
If we elect to form a local or regional cooperative or if a cooperative already exists as to the area of your Restaurant, you will be required to participate in the cooperative in accordance with the provisions of our Operations Manual which we may supplement and modify from time to time.
Operations
Must the franchisee buy products from a designated distributor?
YesItem 8
You must purchase the System Supplies from us, our affiliates, or our designated suppliers.
Must equipment be purchased from designated or approved suppliers?
YesItem 8
You may only use, lease, and/or install those products, services, furniture, fixtures, equipment, ingredients, beverages, packaging, paper goods, small wares, and other materials and supplies that we authorize and designate in writing that are now a part of our System or that we may designate as a part of our System…
Payments
Are royalties and other fees collected by automatic bank debit (ACH or electronic funds transfer) from the franchisee's account?
YesFranchise agreement
designated ACH Authorization form and such other authorization agreements, in the form proscribed by Franchisor, for preauthorized payment of Royalty Fee payments, and other amounts due from Franchisee under this 141 Agreement, by electronic transfer of funds from Franchisee's bank account to the bank account that…
People
Does the franchisor require minimum staffing levels or specific roles?
YesItem 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?
YesItem 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?
YesItem 11
You must purchase, license and use the computer, point of sale, business management, and ordering systems that we designate.
Does the franchisor have independent access to the data in the franchisee's POS or computer system?
YesItem 11
We will have independent access to all of the information and data that is electronically transmitted on your point of sale system and will have access to all data related to the financial performance of your Restaurant.
Sales and CRM
Must the franchisee use a CRM system designated or approved by the franchisor?
YesFranchise agreement
(22) Exclusively use, at all times, only those supplies, products, equipment, software systems, business management systems, customer relationship management systems (whether hard drive based, 148 networked, or cloud based) and supplies designated by Franchisor including, without limitation, the System Supplies, the…
Training
Can the franchisor charge the franchisee for additional, refresher or remedial training?
YesFranchise agreement
Franchisor reserves the right to assess Franchisee reasonable charges for such training.
Is attendance at an annual convention or conference mandatory for the franchisee?
YesItem 6
If we establish a franchisee annual conference you or your Managing Owner must attend the conference on the dates and at the location that we designate.
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.
- 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 The Alley The Alley runs 9 units, 8 franchised and 1 company-owned, in the quick-service restaurant segment, with unit count up 100% year over year in the 2025 FDD.
Who controls software purchasing Item 2 names Mao-Ting Chiu as Chairman and CEO and Jenny He as Operation Manager — the two officers on record for the system.
Tech named in the FDD, and what is actually required Sysco is named in Item 7, though nothing in the filing obliges a franchisee to use it — the FDD mentions it, without attaching a purchase requirement.
Procurement, renewals, and timing Item 8 sets an approved-supplier list: franchisees must purchase from designated or approved suppliers, or from suppliers meeting franchisor specifications where no designated supplier exists, and the franchisor may designate itself or an affiliate as exclusive supplier. Branded items and marketing materials may come from the franchisor directly or a designated supplier, and franchisees may propose an alternate supplier for approval. The initial term is 5 years; renewal requires 180 days' notice, a clean compliance record, a signed general release, a renewal fee, and remodeling. The FDD makes no financial performance representation.
How to read the The Alley FDD The full 2025 disclosure document is embedded below via the PDF viewer, filed with state franchise regulators. For a ranked list of franchise systems that fit your product better than this one, talk to FranCloud.
Questions vendors ask
The Alley, answered from the filing
Read the filing itself
Every number on this page traces back to this document. Read it in full, page by page. Buy the original PDF to download, search, and annotate it.
View only A one-time purchase: the original filing, yours to keep.
FDD alert
Tell me when this brand refiles.
We’ll email you the moment The Alley files a new annual FDD, usually the freshest signal of a vendor change.
Operator footprint
Who runs the locations
38 operators run 44 mapped locations. 6 of them are multi-unit. Aggregate counts from the filing; no names.
Operators by units owned
Top states by locations
| CA | 14 |
|---|---|
| TX | 8 |
| OR | 4 |
| FL | 2 |
| NC | 2 |
Related Quick service restaurant brands
Primary franchise filings · updated September 2026. Every figure is source-traceable and QA-checked.