The Original Steaks and Hoagies

The vendor opportunity at The Original Steaks and Hoagies

The Original Steaks and Hoagies is a quick-service restaurant concept headquartered in Ohio. According to the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document, the system consists of 8 total units — 6 company-owned and 2 franchised. This is a micro-cap franchise system, meaning the total addressable market for a software vendor is limited to a single-digit number of locations. However, the heavy company-owned skew (75% of units) means the franchisor itself is the dominant operator, which can simplify a sales process: you are essentially pitching a corporate entity that also controls franchisee technology mandates.

No average unit volume (AUV) is disclosed in the FDD, so you cannot benchmark potential ROI based on store-level revenue. The royalty rate is 6.0% of gross sales, and the initial franchise term runs 10 years. Year-over-year unit growth is not reported, suggesting the system has been static or the franchisor chose not to disclose expansion figures. For a vendor, this signals a stable but non-growing footprint — your pitch must center on operational efficiency gains or cost savings within the existing 8-unit base, not on scaling with a rapidly expanding chain.

Who controls software purchasing

The 2023 FDD identifies Joshua Bierman as the Agent for Service of Process. In a system this small, that individual is almost certainly the primary decision-maker for all major operational and technology contracts. No other executives — no CIO, CTO, VP of Operations, or procurement lead — are listed in Item 1. This means your outreach is straightforward: Joshua Bierman is the sole named contact. When you engage, frame your solution around the specific pain points of a small, company-owned-dominated restaurant group that already has mandated POS and online ordering systems in place.

Because the franchisor operates 6 of the 8 units directly, any software adoption at the HQ level effectively covers 75% of the system immediately. The remaining 2 franchised locations are required to follow the franchisor’s technology mandates, so a successful HQ sale pulls through the entire system. There is no multi-unit operator (MUO) layer to navigate — our corpus maps no operators beyond the franchisor itself.

Mandated and current tech stack

The Original Steaks and Hoagies mandates two specific technology systems. First, Exatouch is the required point-of-sale system. Exatouch is a POS platform commonly used in small to mid-sized restaurant and retail operations, offering integrated payment processing, inventory management, and reporting. Second, Chow Now is mandated for online ordering. Chow Now is a commission-free online ordering platform that integrates with restaurant POS systems and provides direct-to-consumer ordering channels.

For a software vendor, these mandates define the integration landscape. If you sell a complementary tool — such as labor scheduling, loyalty, catering management, or advanced analytics — you must demonstrate seamless compatibility with Exatouch and Chow Now. If you sell a competing POS or online ordering system, you face an uphill battle: the franchisor has already standardized on these platforms, and displacing a mandated vendor in an 8-unit system requires proving extraordinary ROI. The fact that both systems are mandated, not merely recommended, means franchisees have no discretion to switch on their own.

Procurement, renewals, and timing

The 2023 FDD does not include an Item 8 extract, so the franchisor’s procurement model — whether it designates specific suppliers, maintains an approved supplier list, or allows open purchasing — is not publicly disclosed. In practice, for a system this small, procurement decisions are likely made directly by ownership on an ad hoc basis rather than through a formal RFP process.

Renewal terms offer a potential trigger for technology re-evaluation. Franchisees can renew for up to two additional 5-year terms, but renewal is conditional: they must sign the then-current form of franchise agreement, which may include updated technology mandates. They must also renovate to then-current standards and sign a general release. For a vendor, a franchisee approaching renewal is a window to discuss how new software can help meet updated operational standards. However, with only 2 franchised units and no disclosed renewal timeline, this is a narrow window.

How to read the The Original Steaks and Hoagies FDD

The full 2023 FDD is embedded below. Key sections for a software vendor include Item 1 (the franchisor and its executives — here, only Joshua Bierman is listed), Item 11 (franchisor’s obligations, where the Exatouch and Chow Now mandates appear), and Item 17 (renewal and termination, which outlines the 5-year renewal terms and conditions). Item 8, which would normally detail purchasing requirements, is absent from our extract, so you will need to inquire directly about supplier approval processes. Use the FDD to verify every claim before you build a pitch deck — and when you are ready to prioritize franchise systems by tech stack fit, FranCloud can help you build a ranked target list.