Nothing Bundt Cakes has 600-plus locations in more than 40 states and Canada. The company moved up 26 spots to No. 101 on the Franchise Times Top 400 with $741 million in revenue.
A mandate from Nothing Bundt Cakes requiring franchisees to keep their businesses open on Sundays has ignited a dispute in Utah and led to the introduction of a state bill aimed at protecting the religious freedom of franchise owners.
Rep. Ken Ivory, a Republican from Utah’s 39th District, said he introduced a bill in early January after Nothing Bundt Cakes franchisees in Utah approached him last year about their opposition to a new corporate mandate to remain open for business on Sundays starting on February 1.
Ivory’s proposed legislation “will ensure that franchisees have the assurance that their religious rights and convictions are not infringed in being mandated to operate on Sundays unless such a stipulation was expressly negotiated and included in the initial franchise agreement,” according to a news release.
Rep. Ken Ivory, a Republican from Utah’s 39th District, introduced a state bill he says is aimed at protecting the religious freedom of franchise owners.
A letter addressed to the Nothing Bundt Cakes leadership team that outlines their dissatisfaction with the new mandate is signed by seven franchisees in Utah in support of Ivory’s proposed bill. According to franchisee Kelsey Hunt, who shared a copy of the letter dated January 1, the signatures represent nine of 10 Nothing Bundt Cakes locations open in Utah.
“This bill is about respecting the religious beliefs and practices of those who choose to own and operate a franchise so they can choose to preserve a day of rest or worship. By mandating that they work on Sunday, what Nothing Bundt Cakes is asking them to do is a clear violation of the religious freedom of these business owners and their rights as written in the U.S. Constitution,” Ivory said.
Ivory contended Nothing Bundt Cakes franchisees in Utah chose to join the franchise system “so they could observe a day of worship, should they choose so.” Franchisees Brad Berrett and Hunt both substantiated that statement and said the franchise agreements they signed when they entered the system did not include a requirement to remain open on Sundays.
“They should not be subject to a unilateral change of their franchise agreement mandating they remain open on Sundays long after they invested substantial time and money to pursue this type of business opportunity,” Ivory said about the Utah franchisees.
A spokesperson for Nothing Bundt Cakes issued the following statement on behalf of corporate: “We communicated to our full franchise system that all bakeries would operate seven days a week and gave our franchisees more than a year to prepare. This new schedule will allow us to better meet the needs of our guests and is consistent with our franchise agreements.”
Nothing Bundt Cakes was founded by Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz in Las Vegas in 1997. Levine Leichtman Capital Partners purchased the business in 2016 and then sold it to fellow private equity firm Roark Capital in 2021. It has 600-plus locations in more than 40 states and Canada. The company moved up 26 spots to No. 101 on the Franchise Times Top 400 with $741 million in revenue.
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“We love Nothing Bundt Cakes and absolutely love bringing the joy to our guest and our communities, but this new mandate to remain open on Sunday was not what we signed up for,” said Hunt, owner of two Nothing Bundt Cakes in St. George and Spanish Forks, Utah.
Nothing Bundt Cakes franchisee Kelsey Hunt has two stores in Utah.
Hunt said when she signed her franchise agreement for her St. George bakery in 2018 there was no stipulation in her contract, as she interpreted it, requiring her business to remain open on Sunday. She said the franchise agreement for her second location in Spanish Forks, which she signed last year and opened in December, was updated to include new wording requiring her stores to remain open on Sunday with the understanding she could request a variance in the future.
She said the new mandate requires stores to be open 62 hours per week. A proposal she presented to brand leadership last year to reach that minimum requirement by increasing the store hours for the other six days of the week didn’t receive corporate approval, she said.
Like Hunt, Berrett said it makes little financial sense for his Salt Lake City store to be open on Sundays.
“Because Sunday is a day of worship for so many people in our state, most stores choose to close Sundays and there is very little customer traffic on those days,” he said. “The business we’ll get on Sundays would barely cover the costs of keeping ours stores open.
Brad Berrett is among the Nothing Bundt Cakes franchisees in Utah pushing back against a corporate mandate to operate on Sundays.
“It makes very little sense to force us to remain open on Sundays,” Berrett continued, “but they’ve made it very clear that this what they want. Why? Because they get 10 percent of every dollar you make, that’s why.”
Chick-fil-A is perhaps the most well-known franchise whose stores are closed on Sundays, largely because of the religious beliefs of founder S. Truett Cathy.
The release from Ivory’s office only mentions a Sunday exemption. It doesn’t specify whether the legislation would offer similar religious freedom protections for Friday, the Sabbath for Muslims, or Saturday, the principal worship day for Seventh-day Adventists and followers of Judaism.
“Like all businesses in Utah that operate seven days a week, we will watch this legislation closely,” said Nothing Bundt Cakes corporate in an email.