NEW YORK — When Keith Bussey first opened his Nothing Bundt Cakes location in northern California in 2019, he exhausted his 401(k) savings, excited to invest in an up-and-coming franchise. And it really helped that the company had a long-standing tradition of offering its franchisees the option to close on Sundays.

The whimsical bakery chain reversed that policy in the past year, now requiring that all stores be open a minimum of five hours on Sundays starting Feb. 2. Even if the existing franchise's contract didn't originally mandate Sunday hours, all operating manuals have been updated and the company sent out a mandate, owners said. New franchise contracts include the rule.

On Tuesday, Bussey informed corporate he was putting the bakery up for sale.

"When the franchise was presented to us, it felt like a community," Bussey said. "Once we got that mandate, it just doesn't fit with our lifestyle."

Store owners from Iowa to Oregon to Florida expressed frustration at the policy change to CNN, saying the option to close on Sundays was a deciding factor in choosing to invest in the franchise. Many of them had poured out their savings into opening the bakeries.

In Utah, where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are a large portion of the population, a tense debate has led to the introduction of a state bill that would guarantee franchisors could not change contracts to mandate Sunday operations due to "religious liberty."

Some other franchises, famously Chick-fil-A, have been open only six days a week from the get-go.

Nothing Bundt Cakes began in 1997 in the Las Vegas kitchens of Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz. Private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners acquired the business in 2016, but Tripp retained majority ownership. In 2021, Levin Leichtman sold Nothing Bundt Cakes to another private equity firm, Roark Capital, after which Tripp left the company.

Related:

Bill would prevent some Utah franchise locations from being forced to open on Sundays

State Rep. Ken Ivory has proposed a bill that would add protections for some Utah franchise owners who want to close their stores on Sundays.

The debate underscores the tense relationship that can transpire between franchise and franchisee, especially in the hands of private equity. The bakery's current owner officially bought Subway last year and those franchise owners were indifferent toward new $6,000 deli slicers.

More than 500 out of Nothing Bundt Cakes' roughly 650 bakeries are open 7 days a week, the company said to CNN. It said it is watching the legislation in Utah closely.

'Falling on deaf ears'

"Over a year ago, we communicated the requirement to be open all week long to our entire franchise system. This provided them with time to prepare, and the requirement is consistent with our franchise agreements," the company's brand team said in a statement to CNN.

Bussey's location is in a college town where traffic dies down on Sundays, especially in the summers. He said he would lose thousands of dollars if he operated on those days, as sales wouldn't offset the labor costs — minimum wage for fast food workers is $20 in California — and higher electricity and supply bills.

Nothing Bundt Cakes said it would consider exceptions for stores open longer than six months. Bussey said he asked for an exception three weeks ago and has yet to hear back.

"It seems like it's falling on deaf ears with the franchise," Bussey said.

Another franchise owner, who asked not to be named, said he made the difficult decision to comply with the mandate. He said he and his wife quit their corporate jobs and invested in a location in part because the Sunday off allowed them to focus on their young children.

Before he committed to opening more stores, the company assured him that they had no plans to require Sunday openings.

"We have decided to comply with the mandate out of concern that we could lose our business (our life savings) or be forced to sell the business abruptly," the owner said over e-mail. "If we lost our bakeries, I would likely have to travel again and miss being a part of my kiddo's lives again."

He and his wife are planning to operate the bakeries by themselves on Sundays until they can fully hire and train people to work, he said. He added that they have had difficulty with hiring.

A debate of religious freedom

Kelsey Hunt and her husband signed their first franchise agreement in St. George in 2018. She said Nothing Bundt Cakes' values resonated with her family, and an extremely important specificity was reserving the Sabbath day for her faith.

Sunday is the Sabbath day for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church says the Sabbath is reserved for rest and worship — meaning no work.

Hunt opened another location in Spanish Fork in late 2024.

She said the operating manual and lease agreement had changed in 2024. The mandate says that starting in early February 2025, all stores must be open for a minimum of 62 hours a week, five of which must be on Sundays. Hunt said she had been in contact with Nothing Bundt Cakes' corporate office for 18 months to protest the rule, and still hasn't heard back about a joint letter sent by Utah franchisees sent this month.

Since their new Spanish Fork location is under a different agreement, that bakery is already open Sundays. But it hasn't been open long enough to qualify for an exception.

"On Sundays, often I'm the only car there (in the parking lot) for all the surrounding stores," Hunt said.

In response to the pushback from Nothing Bundt Cakes' franchise owners in Utah, a newly introduced state bill said that franchisees would not be mandated to operate on Sundays unless it was explicitly negotiated in the initial agreement. Kenneth Ivory, a Republican state representative, said in a press release that the bill aims to protect "religious liberty."

Rebecca Nieman, professor of business law and ethics at the University of San Diego, said the Utah franchise owners will have a difficult time arguing religious discrimination. At the end of the day, it's a contract dispute, she said, even though large modifications in contract renewals are uncommon.

Nothing Bundt Cakes could argue that it has a valid business reason for the change and that the mandate is being applied equally to all franchises. The company also told other outlets that the added day will "better meet the needs of our guests and is consistent with our franchise agreements."

The Utah letter from franchisees asks for the franchise to delay the mandate until a decision on the state law is reached. But University of Miami business law chair Ann Olazábal said that could violate the contracts clause of the Constitution, which prevents states from passing laws that interfere with existing contracts.

But so far, franchise owners have said requests for exceptions have been ignored or not granted.

"(Nothing Bundt Cakes) feels like it's taken a sharp corporate swing to where it feels like it's just to maximize sales and dollars," Bussey said. "Our voices aren't being heard."

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