Bottom line
- Total investment $262K – $1.3M including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.6M/year (median $1.5M).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 42/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 71 loans (below the industry average).
- System growing at 16.5% CAGR over 3 years with 151 total units — strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Yale framework · single-unit ROIC
Returns Analysis
Pulls Item 7 (investment) and Item 19 (revenue) from this brand's FDD into the Yale unlevered-ROIC formula. Override any input to stress-test it against your own assumptions.
The model · Yale framework
What would one Bonchon unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
27%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Bonchon units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
43.6%
6.11× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.01×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$2.8M
on $11.2M purchase
Total debt
$8.4M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual Korean fried chicken restaurants featuring signature soy garlic and spicy sauces, managing kitchen operations, food preparation, customer service, and delivery logistics. Day-to-day involves food cost management, labor scheduling, quality control, and inventory management in a QSR environment with higher operational complexity than typical chicken concepts.
Item 7 · what it costs
The Vitals
Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 19 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator — not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee phone area codes (Item 20). Approximate — ported numbers may show the original state, not the franchisee's current location.
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Bonchon presents moderate-to-cautious risk with undisclosed profitability metrics, sluggish unit growth, regulatory compliance issues, and unresolved questions about actual franchisee returns relative to high investment requirements.
Score breakdown · what drove the 42 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — inability to verify profitability claims against $1.6M average revenue
- 02MINORSlow unit growth of 3.5% YoY suggests market saturation or franchisee dissatisfaction in mature 151-unit system
- 03HIGHLitigation history including trademark/contract disputes and 2020 Washington consent order for unqualified accountants raises franchisor operational/compliance concerns
- 04MINORWide investment range ($262K-$1.3M) with no clear breakdown suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs
- 05MINOR5% royalty on gross revenues (not net) compounds profitability pressure if margins are thin
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
Item 11
Training & Operations
Item 20
Franchisee Contacts
Phone numbers extracted directly from this brand's FDD Item 20. After purchase, you'll also receive a list of validation questions tailored to this brand.
Franchisee contacts
100 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Bonchon · FDD (2026) PDF