A 2026 PrimoHoagies franchise is a hands-on, owner-supervised quick-service restaurant that converts walk-in, digital, delivery, and catering orders into made-to-order hoagies and related menu items. The franchisee runs labor, inventory, food production, service, and local compliance; PrimoHoagies Franchising, LLC controls the menu, recipes, pricing parameters, suppliers, technology, advertising standards, data access, and inspections.
How does a PrimoHoagies restaurant operate after opening?
The unit receives retail food orders, records them through the approved point-of-sale environment, prepares products through defined front-of-house and back-of-house stations, fulfills dine-in, take-out, delivery, and catering demand, then reports sales and operating data through franchisor-accessible systems.
The disclosed format is a 1,000- to 1,200-square-foot PrimoHoagies Restaurant. A Multi-Unit Option Agreement is a development path, not another format: each restaurant requires a separate, then-current Franchise Agreement. Item 19 references seasonal or non-traditional locations, but the 2026 offer does not define a separate non-traditional franchise format.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 1, pages 1–3; Item 8, pages 15–18; Item 12, pages 31–34; Item 15, pages 38–39.
What does the franchisee sell, and who buys it?
The franchisee sells only approved menu items, products, merchandise, and services to retail customers for consumption, not wholesale or resale. The core offering includes hoagies, cheesesteaks, salads, side dishes, soft drinks, delivery, and catering.
Products and service occasions
The System specifies recipes, ingredients, preparation methods, menu items, and presentation. Consumer materials show made-to-order hoagies, cheesesteaks, chicken cutlets, sides, and catering trays; the exact assortment remains subject to the Manual. See the official PrimoHoagies menu.
Customer and order channels
Demand comes from restaurant guests, take-out and delivery customers, and catering accounts. The PrimoPerks rewards channel and PrimoHoagies mobile app support ordering, rewards, gift cards, store selection, and reordering.
How does an order move through the unit?
The operating cycle is order intake, POS recording and payment, ingredient preparation, station-based production, fulfillment, and sales reporting. The FDD training curriculum identifies front-of-house/POS, slicing, dressing, prep, ovens or hot cooking, catering, inventory, and reporting functions.
Demand and order intake
- Actor
- Customer; front-of-house employee; approved digital or delivery channel.
- Action
- Places an in-store, take-out, delivery, or catering order from the authorized menu.
- System or asset
- Restaurant counter, brand ordering channel, PrimoPerks, or approved third-party portal.
- Output
- A retail order routed to the PrimoHoagies Restaurant.
POS recording and payment
- Actor
- Front-of-house employee under owner or trained-manager supervision.
- Action
- Confirms items, applies approved pricing and promotions, accepts payment, and records the transaction.
- System or asset
- Approved POS hardware, software, credit-card processing, printer, and cash drawer.
- Output
- Paid order ticket and Gross Sales record.
Ingredient preparation
- Actor
- Prep and back-of-house employees.
- Action
- Pull approved inventory, prepare ingredients, and stage production according to recipes, food-safety rules, and demand.
- System or asset
- Manual, approved ingredients, refrigeration, slicers, scales, prep surfaces, and sanitation controls.
- Output
- Compliant inputs ready for station production.
Station-based production
- Actor
- Slicing, dressing, oven, hot-cooking, and catering personnel.
- Action
- Builds the ordered hoagie or related item to the current recipe, portion, assembly, and presentation standards.
- System or asset
- Approved bread, meats, cheeses, produce, equipment, packaging, recipes, and station procedures.
- Output
- Completed product ready for quality check and handoff.
Quality check and fulfillment
- Actor
- Unit employee, owner, or trained manager; delivery provider when applicable.
- Action
- Checks order accuracy, packages the product, and completes dine-in, take-out, delivery, or catering handoff.
- System or asset
- Packaging, catering supplies, approved delivery channel, and video-surveillance environment.
- Output
- Fulfilled retail order and customer-service event.
Reporting, settlement, and follow-up
- Actor
- Franchisee or principal; franchisor and approved system providers.
- Action
- Reconciles POS data, inventory, third-party sales, weekly reports, bank deposits, and required ACH withdrawals.
- System or asset
- POS, Franchisee Dashboard, reporting tools, designated bank account, and retained records.
- Output
- Reported Gross Sales, collected system fees, auditable records, and repeat-order data.
Sources: 2026 FDD, Item 6, pages 7–10; Item 8, pages 15–18; Item 11, pages 25–31; Manual table of contents, pages 197–289.
Who performs each function?
A single-unit franchise is owner-operated under the FDD’s participation rule. Multi-unit ownership can use trained managers at individual restaurants, but the owner must still devote at least 40 hours each week to on-premises management across the portfolio.
Franchisee or principal
- Provides full-time management, including at least 40 on-premises hours weekly.
- Orders inventory, maintains records, deposits receipts, and submits required reports.
- Controls recruiting, hiring, firing, and employment decisions.
- Maintains permits, insurance, food safety, labor compliance, and the Approved Location.
Manager and unit staff
- Multi-unit restaurants require a fully trained manager for at least 40 on-premises hours per unit.
- Employees execute POS, slicing, dressing, prep, hot-cooking, catering, sanitation, opening, and closing tasks.
- At least one ServSafe® or comparable certified employee must be present during all business hours.
- Staff with Confidential Information may be required to sign franchisor-prescribed agreements.
Franchisor and third parties
- PrimoHoagies Franchising, LLC sets System standards, menu rules, pricing parameters, suppliers, and technology.
- Nellie’s Provisions, LLC supplies designated food and paper-goods inputs.
- Approved Suppliers provide POS, surveillance, processing, equipment, uniforms, signage, and other inputs.
- Delivery, catering, payment, and software providers route transactions and operating data.
Food-safety program reference: ServSafe official site. Contractual source: 2026 FDD, Item 15, pages 38–39.
Which suppliers and systems are mandatory?
The franchisee cannot source the restaurant as an independent sandwich shop. Required Purchases cover most food, packaging, equipment, uniforms, signage, payment processing, POS, surveillance, and related services, and the franchisor currently provides no process for approving an alternate supplier.
Approved-supplier input stack
Bread, meats, cheeses, chips, beverages, paper goods, linens, restaurant supplies, equipment, signage, uniforms, architectural plans, credit-card processing, POS, and video surveillance must come from designated or Approved Suppliers where specified. Produce is expressly excluded from the FDD’s current list of centrally sourced sandwich ingredients.
Affiliate dependency
Nellie’s Provisions is the only Approved Supplier for certain food items, ingredients, paper goods, and branded paper goods. PrimoHoagies Franchising may also designate itself or an affiliate as the only Approved Supplier for future required goods or services.
Required technology
The contractual core is approved POS hardware and software, credit-card processing, active video surveillance, internet and security specifications, and a software service arrangement. The franchisee must install directed updates and replacements.
Named operating tools
Training identifies Solink, Revel MC, Tenzo, Gift Portal, Franchisee Dashboard, ezCater, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. The mandatory obligation is to use the Computer System and Required Software designated by the franchisor.
What does the franchisor control, and what remains with the franchisee?
PrimoHoagies Franchising controls the customer promise and the data architecture. The franchisee controls the local employer function and executes the restaurant day to day, but those decisions must remain inside the approved System, Territory, supplier network, menu, pricing, marketing, and reporting rules.
Local marketing is directed, not unrestricted: the franchisee must use approved media and materials and join a regional Cooperative if one is established. Store discovery is centralized through the PrimoHoagies location directory.
How protected is the restaurant’s market?
The Territory is protected against another standard PrimoHoagies Restaurant operating under the System and Proprietary Marks at a location inside the defined boundary, but it is not exclusive against every customer, channel, venue, brand, or form of competition.
Unless otherwise agreed, the Territory is a two-mile radius around the Approved Location; it can differ by market or consist only of the site. The franchisor may advertise to customers inside the Territory, sell through electronic or retail channels, license nontraditional venues, and operate other concepts or acquired brands there without compensating the franchisee.
The franchisee may solicit or accept orders from customers outside the Territory, but may not use the Internet, catalog sales, telemarketing, or other direct-marketing channels to sell outside it. Multi-Unit Option Agreement development rights are non-exclusive and remain conditional on the Development Schedule and compliance with all agreements, affiliate obligations, and approved-vendor obligations.
What does Item 20 show about the operating network?
At December 31, 2025, Item 20 reported 125 U.S. outlets: 114 franchised restaurants and 11 outlets classified as company-owned, with the footnote that those 11 were owned and operated by PHAC1, LLC.
The network remained predominantly franchised, while the reported company-owned category expanded through reacquisitions: total outlets increased from 109 at year-end 2023 to 125 at year-end 2025.
Source: 2026 FDD, Item 20, Table 20.1, pages 47–48. Values: 114 ÷ 125 = 91.2%; 11 ÷ 125 = 8.8%.
Which operating questions remain to be verified?
The FDD defines the control structure, but it does not disclose unit-level staffing counts, shift design, current supplier pricing, delivery economics, exact platform configurations, or the operating condition of a specific resale restaurant.
- Supplier list and substitutionsObtain the current Approved Supplier list, identify every sole-source Nellie’s Provisions item, and confirm how produce and emergency substitutions are handled.
- Technology configurationConfirm the current POS, Solink, Revel MC, Tenzo, Gift Portal, Franchisee Dashboard, processing, support, upgrade, and data-retention requirements for the target unit.
- Owner and manager coverageMap the required 40-hour owner role, peak-hour supervision, trained-manager coverage for multiple units, and certified food-safety coverage for every business hour.
- Territory and channel carve-outsReview the exact Exhibit B boundary and identify reserved airports, stadiums, universities, supermarkets, kiosks, digital sales, national accounts, or nearby nontraditional locations.
- Current outlet statusReconcile Item 20’s December 31, 2025 population with the current official location list, recent openings, closures, transfers, and any PHAC1, LLC ownership changes.
What is the central operating model?
PrimoHoagies converts retail and catering demand into made-to-order food sales through a compact restaurant, approved digital channels, and station-based production. The franchisee’s central responsibility is continuous on-premises management of people, inventory, food safety, fulfillment, and reporting. The strongest dependencies are the approved-supplier network and franchisor-controlled POS, surveillance, data, menu, pricing, and advertising rules. The key distinction is that territorial protection covers a defined restaurant location footprint, not all customers or channels. The largest unresolved question is how the current supplier, platform, labor, and delivery configuration performs at the specific restaurant being evaluated.