Chain calorie labeling

Definition

The federal calorie rule for a restaurant chain of 20 or more locations under one name, whoever owns them.

Why It Matters

Cover count is the volume one kitchen serves. This rule counts kitchens across a brand, and it counts the name and not the owner. A restaurant is covered when it belongs to a chain of 20 or more locations doing business under the same name with substantially the same menu items, whatever the ownership, franchises included. A covered restaurant posts calories for every standard menu item on its menus and menu boards, adds the daily calorie statement, offers written nutrition information on request, and must hold a reasonable basis for every number. A franchised unit of a twenty-location brand is covered from its first day of trading. A buyer assembling unrelated restaurants stays outside until twenty of them share one name, so the rebrand is the step that switches it on. A smaller group may register voluntarily, which displaces state and local nutrition labeling rules that are not identical to it.