By Nicole J. Harrell, Stephen E. Story, Franchising

Practice Tip for Franchisors

A recent decision involving the Blimpie’s Franchise System underscores the importance of obtaining new franchisees’ signatures on the completed compliance questionnaire. A court dismissed a lawsuit against Blimpie’s, ruling that, in light of the completed franchisee compliance questionnaire, the franchisee could not succeed upon its claims that Blimpie’s had misrepresented certain aspects of its franchise system. If you have any questions about the proper use of your franchisee compliance questionnaire or if you don’t use one currently, please contact Steve Story or Nicole Harrell.

Trademark Tip for Prospective Franchisors

A federal trademark registration currently takes approximately 18 months to issue. If you are considering becoming a franchisor in the next two years, you should consider filing your federal trademark registration application now. Please contact Steve Story or Nicole Harrell for more information or assistance with a trademark registration application.

Tips for Prospective Franchisees – VetFran

Nicole Harrell has written an article on the The International Franchise Association’s VetFran program, which assists veterans seeking a franchise.

May 2007 Investigating Franchising Your Business Seminar

Kaufman & Canoles will host its second annual Investigating Franchising Your Business seminar on May 2, 2007 in Norfolk, and again later in the year in Richmond. If you are considering becoming a franchisor, or know anyone who is, please call or email us. For more information about the seminar or to register, please contact Nicole Naidyhorski at 757-624-3232.

International Franchise Association 2007 Convention and Forum on Franchising

Steve Story and Nicole Harrell will both attend the International Franchise Association National Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada in February 2007. For those of you who are considering becoming franchisors, or who are new franchisors, the IFA convention presents numerous opportunities to learn more about franchising and to network with other successful franchisors. Please let us know if you are interested in attending, or are already planning to attend, so we can be sure and see you while we are there.

Also, Steve & Nicole recently returned from the American Bar Association Forum on Franchising, an annual two-day intensive program in current developments in franchise law. If you are interested in seeing the table of contents from the program, or viewing the outlines, please contact Steve or Nicole.

New Franchise Registrations

Kaufman & Canoles recently successfully registered in Virginia franchise offering circulars for the following franchisors:

• Geeks in a Flash, LLC, the franchisor of Geeks in a Flash!® computer services franchises, with one location in Wilmington, North Carolina
• Laramie, L.C., the franchisor of Chicho’s® Pizza Restaurants, with four (soon to be five) locations in the South Hampton Roads areaOnline Outpost Licensing Corporation, a franchisor of online auction drop off stores
• PRO-TAX USA LLC, the franchisor of PRO-TAX® tax preparation franchises, with twenty-three locations in Virginia and Tennessee

Recent Openings

We would like to congratulate our franchise clients on the recent openings of the following locations:

• Baker’s Crust® – Kiosk at 150 W. Main Street, Norfolk, Virginia
• Passion Fruits, Inc – Rita’s Water Ice® franchise at 12286 Warwick Boulevard, Newport News, Virginia
• Pills & Powder LLC, owned by Beth and Chris McCoy and Tisha and Jay Burton, recently acquired eight GNC retail stores from another franchisee. The stores are located at Chesapeake Square Mall, 4200 Portsmouth Blvd, Chesapeake; Hilltop North Shopping Center, 1628 Laskin Road, Virginia Beach; Salem Crossing Shopping Center, 2029 Lynnhaven Parkway, Virginia Beach; Parkway Market Place, 5020 Ferrell Parkway, Virginia Beach; Chesterfield Crossing, 12288 Chattanooga Way, Midlothian; Hanover Square Shopping Center, 7354 Bell Creek Road South, Mechanicsville; Short Pump Village, 11426 West Broad Street, Glen Allen; and Ironbridge Plaza, 11994 Iron Bridge Road, Chester
• Professional Restaurants, LLC – Qdoba Mexican Grill® franchise at Hilltop 1883 Republic Road, Virginia Beach, VA
• Quality Partners Investing, LLC – Let’s Dish!® franchise at Town Place at Greenbrier, 741 Eden Way North, Suite 310, Chesapeake, Virginia
• Tin Eagle, Inc – RU Steamin® franchise at 1437 Sam’s Drive #117, Chesapeake, Virginia

Recent Area Development Agreements Negotiated

We have recently negotiated area development agreements for the following clients, pursuant to which they obtained development rights to open a specified number of franchises in an agreed area:

• Bo-Tide Restaurants, Inc. (Bojangles Famous Chicken ‘N Biscuits® Restaurants – Hampton Roads)
• Casual Restaurants Group, LLC (Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries® Restaurants – Hampton Roads)
• Professional Restaurants, LLC (Qdoba Mexican Grill® Restaurants – Hampton Roads).
• Quality Partners Investing, LLC (Let’s Dish!® – Hampton Roads)
• R.T.O., Inc. (Rent-N-Roll® Custom Wheels and Tires – Virginia & District of Columbia)
• Topper Restaurant Group, LLC (Foster’s Grille® Restaurants – Northern Virginia)

Honors & Awards

Steve Story, Chairman of our Franchising Practice Group, was recently named to Best Lawyers in America, Franchising (2007 edition) and to Virginia Super Lawyers, Franchising (2006 edition).

Nicole Harrell has been selected as a candidate for the International Franchise Association’s prestigious Certified Franchise Executive (C.F.E.) training program.

The contents of this publication are intended for general information only and should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion on specific facts and circumstances.

The contents of this publication are intended for general information only and should not be construed as legal advice or a legal opinion on specific facts and circumstances. Copyright 2024.