SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah franchise owner is wondering what happens next after the corporate office mandated that all locations must keep their doors open on Sundays.
“You have moments where it’s like, I’ve invested everything into this. This is my livelihood. And that can be taken away,” shared Kelsey Hunt, owner of Nothing Bundt Cakes franchises in Utah.
The Sunday mandate from Nothing Bundt Cakes corporate went live on Feb. 2, but Hunt didn’t open her St. George location because Sunday is her family’s day of worship.
Two days later, she received another notice.
“On February 5, myself as well as my partners, and then any other bakery owners who didn’t open on that day, received a notice of default from corporate,” Hunt said.
According to Hunt, she and other owners now have until March 7 to comply with the mandate or the corporation will terminate their franchise agreement, which was signed in 2018 when owners weren’t required to open on Sundays.
“We’re getting closer to that March 7 date, less than two weeks away. We’re working with our legal teams to figure out what we’re gonna do next,” explained Hunt.
The mandate ignited a debate earlier this year, leading to Rep. Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan) introducing a bill focused on protecting franchises from opening on religious holidays or days of worship.
“We do anticipate a possible dispute that may come while the dispute is continuing until we can come to a settlement," Hunt added. "It’s unknown.”
Those that FOX 13 News spoke to about the mandate appeared to side with "Do what you want" crowd.
“I like when businesses are open on Sundays, but as far as business owner being forced to be open, I feel like they should close their shop up if they want or do what they want," said Sean Hennefer. "With a franchise though, I don’t know. It’s a bit of a gray area.”
“It was weird moving here and realizing places are closed on Sundays," said Theo Sherman. "I think the option whether to be open on a Sunday is nice. In an idea world, everything would be open 24/7 but that’s not how the world works and people should be able to take the day off.”
Ivory's bill advanced earlier this month by the House Business, Labor and Commerce Committee and is heading to a Senate committee on Wednesday.
