Corporation sues to remove association with Northglenn Good Times franchise

NORTHGLENN — The Good Times franchise is suing a franchisee with two restaurants to stop operating one of them after failing to renew his franchise agreement. 

According to a complaint filed in Adams County District Court by Good Times Drive Thru, Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIM), the owner of Midwest GT Burgers, based in Berthoud, failed to renew a longtime franchise agreement that he had twice renewed in the past, but he refuses to stop operating his Northglenn location as a Good Times Burgers & Frozen Custard. The lawsuit states that owner John Longstaff continues to have a valid franchise agreement on his Broomfield store, and the lawsuit only involves the Northglenn location.

Longstaff, however, said he had been dealing with illnesses in the last year, during which time business suffered. He said the issue is simply one of miscommunication. But, he said, he is not willing to let the business go back to the corporation dirt cheap.

“He wanted a lower purchase price, and is forcing me to sell it to him way below its worth,” Longstaff said. “I don’t want to be forced into a lowball offer.”

The corporation seeks immediate separation with the restaurant, including removal of all signs, furniture and likenesses of the Good Times brand, all of its operating manuals and recipes, and to allow the corporation to buy back the furniture and inventory.

“Unless Midwest is enjoined from their wrongful conduct, Good Times will continue to suffer immediate and irreparable injury and harm in the form of substantial competitive injury, loss of existing and prospective customers, and loss of goodwill and present and future economic loss,” the complaint states.

According to the complaint, Longstaff franchised with Good Times in 1999 for a restaurant at the Northglenn Shopping Center. He renewed it in 2014, and again in 2019. The deadline to notify the corporation of his intent to renew was November 2023, and the agreement expired April 30 without Longstaff indicating he would renew, though he continued to operate the restaurant, the complaint states. 

“Midwest has demanded to be allowed to continue operating the restaurant through December 31, 2025, which is an arbitrary date unrelated to the terms of the agreement,” the complaint states.

Longstaff said the corporation in the past would typically remind him when the agreement was coming up for renewal, which didn’t happen this time. With trying to get business back in good condition, he said, he didn’t notice the renewal had lapsed. He said he believes the corporation is trying to buy up all franchises as cheap as possible. He said he needed another year in operation before getting out to help cover his medical expenses from the past year. 

“I just want to operate another year, and that’s all I’m looking for,” Longstaff said. “I’m not looking to get railroaded.”

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