The Budlong

The vendor opportunity at The Budlong

The Budlong is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in Illinois, operating 6 company-owned locations across 5 states—Connecticut, Washington, Michigan, Minnesota, and Iowa. No franchised units are reported in the 2025 FDD, and year-over-year unit growth is not disclosed. For software vendors, the immediate addressable market is 6 units, all under direct corporate control. The brand’s franchise offering includes a 10-year initial term and a 6.0% royalty rate, but average unit volume (AUV) is not disclosed in the most recent FDD. The operator footprint consists of 10 mapped operators, all single-unit, with no multi-unit operators on file. This structure means any software sale must win approval from a centralized HQ team rather than a fragmented franchisee base.

Who controls software purchasing

Software purchasing authority at The Budlong sits with the management team of Craveworthy LLC, the entity that runs the brand. The 2025 FDD lists five key executives in Item 1: Gregg Majewski (Manager), Kristin Albert (Senior Vice President of Operations), Justin Egan (Vice President of Marketing), Joshua Halpern (Chief Business Officer), and Marci Rude (Vice President of Development). For a vendor pitching operational or marketing technology, Justin Egan and Joshua Halpern are the most likely decision-makers or influencers, given their functional titles. Kristin Albert may weigh in on systems that touch store-level operations. There is no parent company on file; The Budlong appears independently owned under Craveworthy LLC.

Mandated and current tech stack

The only technology system mandated in the 2025 FDD is the point-of-sale platform: Toast POS by Toast, Inc. No other operational, accounting, inventory, HR, or marketing systems are named as required or recommended. This creates a clear opening for vendors whose solutions integrate with Toast or fill gaps in the tech stack. Because the brand is small and company-owned, the existing stack is likely lean, and any new software adoption would be evaluated at HQ for deployment across all 6 locations simultaneously.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

The 2025 FDD does not include an Item 8 procurement extract, so the brand’s purchasing model—whether designated supplier, approved supplier, or open—is not publicly specified. Vendors should assume a direct HQ-driven procurement process. On renewals, Item 17 provides a clear signal: franchisees in good standing may enter into a successor agreement for an additional 10-year term, provided they modernize their business to then-current standards and sign the then-current franchise agreement. Notice of renewal intent must be given between 6 and 12 months before expiration. For vendors, this renewal clause suggests potential contract windows tied to modernization requirements, though with only 6 company-owned units today, the near-term opportunity is limited to corporate-level refresh cycles.

How to read the The Budlong FDD

The 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document for The Budlong is embedded below. It contains the full legal and operational disclosures filed with state franchise regulators. Key sections for software vendors include Item 1 (the franchisor and its executives), Item 11 (mandated systems and suppliers), Item 8 (procurement restrictions), and Item 17 (renewal and modernization terms). Because the brand does not disclose AUV or detailed supplier lists, the FDD remains the single best source for understanding the tech and purchasing landscape. For a ranked target list of franchise systems aligned to your software category, FranCloud can help.