In the third week of September Katelyn Fagan, the company’s head of marketing, announced a brand refresh to franchisees: a new font, new colors, possibly the logo. Everything else, including why, was held for the convention. Franchisees asked whether they would have to buy new signs and did not get an answer from the company. The replies that objected were deleted by the next evening, and a post about “community standards” took their place. The contract they signed says new signs are “at your own expense” and “we have no liability to you.”
CONFIRMEDthe announcement, the reaction, the deletions, the “community standards” post, and the push for convention attendance, as described to this site by franchisees; the company has published nothing about any of itPRIMARY SOURCEBAM’s 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, Items 6, 7, 8, 11 and 13, hosted hereUNRESOLVEDwhat the rebrand is, why, what franchisees must buy and from whom, who deleted the messages, how many franchisees will be in Phoenix to hear it, and the $850 ticket against the printed cap
That the brand is changing. That the reveal is at the convention. That there is nothing more to say until then. Not why, not what it will cost, not who pays. The first question franchisees asked was about signs. The answer that went around among them was that stores opened in the last four or five years would keep their exterior signs. Whether the company said that, or a franchisee did, is not something this site can say yet.
Franchisees objected in the company’s own channel. By the evening after the announcement their objections had been deleted, and a post about “community standards” from Fagan stood where they had been. Who did the deleting is not visible to the franchisees who watched it happen. The company’s own manual says who may.
“Slack shall not be used as a forum to discuss franchise wide policy.” ... “Any franchise directed policy discussions will be removed from public threads.” ... “Public channels on Slack are to be used as tools that foster inter-store communications that are kept to topics that will help everyone - not as a place to air personal grievances, or sway opinions that may or may not be feasibly actionable.” ... “Any communications Corporate deems inappropriate are subject to deletion.”
The manual tells franchisees to take policy “upwards,” to their private store channel, and warns that the public channels “can turn into the ‘wild west’ of opinions.” A rebrand every store must pay for is franchise-wide policy. So the deletions were the manual working as written: the objections were policy talk in a public thread, and policy talk in a public thread gets removed. This is the same channel the company has been hunting leaks from since August, and the same executive who told the August town hall about a 2027 “one year plan to rebuild and strengthen the brand,” as this site reported.
“If it becomes advisable at any time, in our sole discretion, to modify or discontinue use of any Mark, and/or use one or more additional or substitute trademarks or service marks, you must comply with our directions with respect to a reasonable time after notice by us. You, in connection with the use of a new or modified Mark, may be required, at your own expense, to remove existing signage from your Store, and to purchase and install new signage. We have no liability to you.”
Signs are the start. Item 8: “You must purchase the storefront signage we require from our designated suppliers, as well as employee apparel, nametags, branded fixtures, and branded supplies.” Item 6 lets the company order a renovation “once every three years,” up to $6,000 a time. Item 7 puts a new store’s signage at $10,000 to $25,000; the 2023 edition said $4,900 to $12,000. “Signage expenses are not refundable.”
“At your own expense.” “We have no liability to you.”
The convention is October 13 to 15 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, according to the details given to franchisees. Attending costs them too. The disclosure says the convention is “typically at our headquarters,” that “you will be responsible for all costs associated with attending the convention such as travel, room and board,” and that the registration fee is “currently $500 per person.” That sentence is new. The 2017, 2023 and 2025 editions all said the fee “will not exceed $500 per person”; the 2026 edition says “currently $500” and that any increase will “in no event” be greater than 20 percent, which allows $600. Franchisees have told this site that this year’s ticket is $850. That is above the ceiling the company printed in every edition, including the one it just raised. Last year’s was at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott in Texas, October 12 to 16, and the host town counted 700 hotel rooms and about $514,000 in local spending. Franchisees have also told this site that the company is pushing hard for attendance this year, worried that it will be low. That is where the franchisees who go will learn what the rebrand is, and how much it will cost them.
The fair counterpoint. A refresh can be a font and a palette and nothing more, and the company may pay for whatever it requires; the clauses above are permissions, and none has been invoked yet. The assurance about exterior signs may have come from the company, in which case it is a promise this site will hold it to. The right of reply is open to BAM and to Katelyn Fagan.
Sources. BAM Franchising, Inc., Franchise Disclosure Documents for 2017, 2023, 2025 and 2026, hosted here: Items 6, 7, 8, 11 and 13, including each edition’s sentence on the conference registration fee. Visit The Woodlands, “Bricks and Minifigs Conference Makes Giant Leaps in The Woodlands”, on BAMcon 2025. The Bricks & Minifigs Franchisee Training & Operations Manual, edition V.10.6.24, Section 3.2.1, as published at bamopsmanual.com and authenticated by the company’s own takedown notice. This site’s reporting on the August town hall and the hunt for a leaker. The account of the announcement, the reaction, the deletions, the “community standards” post, the push for attendance and the $850 ticket is as described to this site by franchisees. The right of reply is open to everyone named here.