One Of Your Favorite Restaurants May Soon Be Open On Sundays

In the event you experience an insatiable hankering for a sweet treat on a Sunday, you may be in luck. Nothing Bundt Cakes, a bakery known for, you guessed it, a wide selection of bundt cakes, recently issued a mandate requiring all locations to be open for at least five hours on Sunday. Despite a history of giving its franchisees the option to close on Sundays, the new rule goes into effect on February 2, 2025, and all stores, even those owned and operated by franchisees, are expected to comply. 

While the expanded hours are definitely good news for customers (and here's our ranking of Nothing Bundt Cakes flavors from worst to best in case you need a bit of inspiration during your next trip), many franchisees are not happy with the change. While Nothing Bundt Cakes corporate claims that locations open on Sunday earn substantial profits, franchisees also wonder whether the revenue will be sufficient to cover operating costs. Along with concerns about the new schedule interfering with franchisees' personal lives and the potential financial losses that could occur, Nothing Bundt Cakes locations in Utah face a unique challenge, due to the large number of people who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; many who belong to the faith observe the practice of worship and rest on Sundays.

While Chick-fil-A is well known for being closed on Sundays due to the original owner's religious beliefs, the vast majority of other chain restaurants are open that day. Nothing Bundt Cakes has a sizable presence throughout the nation, plus locations in Ontario, Canada, and it stands to reason that the restaurant would want to capitalize on Sunday sales everywhere it operates. Additionally, Nothing Bundt Cakes claims that it informed franchisees about the switch well before it was supposed to take place and offered more than a year for operators to get ready for the expanded schedule. 

As for the franchisees, consider that franchise agreements often afford little wiggle room regarding official rules and regulations. While franchisees may have some discretion when it comes to small decisions, corporate offices can ultimately update operating procedures and require franchisees to follow new rules. That means that Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise locations will likely need to comply with the new Sunday hours (although a state bill is pending that could affect requirements in Utah due to concerns about religious freedoms). For bundt cake lovers outside of Utah, your Sunday might just get a little sweeter very soon. Those in Utah will just have to wait to see how the bill plays out. And if you don't have access to a location where you live, you can always try our Nothing Bundt Cake copycat recipe.