FranchiseVerdict
Kajiken Restaurant logo
FV-01389·MODERATEExcellent81

Kajiken Restaurant

Food & Beverage - Full ServiceFranchising since 2021Website
Investment
$521K – $831K
68th pct Full Service
Avg revenue
57th pct Full Service
Royalty
4.0%
6th pct Full Service
Units
3
16th pct Full Service
SBA default

Bottom line

  • Total investment $521K – $831K including a $50K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
  • No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed — the franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
  • Rated MODERATE with a risk score of 65/100.
  • Auditor disclosed a going-concern note — flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.

Item 1 · who you're contracting with

The Franchisor

Legal entity
Kajiken International, Inc.
Incorporated in
California
HQ
112 B St., San Mateo, California 94401
Auditor
Ellsworth • Stout
Audited financials
Franchisor revenue
$39K
vs $84K prior year
⚠ Going-concern note
Disclosed in FDD 2024
Status as of 2024; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.

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 Kajiken Restaurant unit return on the cash you put in?

Revenue · per unit, per year
$
Item 19 not disclosed — typing your own estimate
Franchisor take · royalty + ad fund
Royaltytyp 68%
%
Ad fundtyp 35%
%
Operating costs · category default: generic
COGS
%
Labor
%
Rent / occupancy
%
Other operating
%
Total invested capital · what you actually put in
Initial investment
$
FDD Item 7: $521K–$831K
Working capital
$
FDD reports $30K–$60K

Unlevered ROIC · per unit

19%

Below typical band (30–60%)

0%30–60% Yale band80%

Store EBITDA · annual
$137K
EBITDA margin
18.3%
Total invested
$721K
Payback
63 mo
Unit-level only. A multi-unit portfolio gives up roughly 5–15% of this to shared services (corporate G&A) before reaching the ~10-unit break-even Yale describes.

Overview

About

Franchisees operate Kajiken restaurants, likely specializing in Japanese cuisine or ramen-based dining based on the brand name. Daily operations include food preparation, inventory management, staffing, customer service, and point-of-sale management across a restaurant location within their protected territory. Franchisees pay 4% of gross sales as ongoing royalties plus must comply with brand standards and operational protocols.

CEO
Kenichi Kaji
Founded
2020
FDD year
2024
States available
3

Item 7 · what it costs

The Vitals

Total investment
$521K – $831K
All-in to open one unit
Liquid capital
$30K – $60K
Cash you must have on hand
Franchise fee
$50K
Royalty
4.0%
Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
Ad fund
0.8%
typical 3–5%
Total fee load
4.8%
vs 9–13% typical

Item 19

Financial Performance

This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.

Item 20 · unit dynamics

The Growth Chart

Total units
3
Opened
2
Last reporting year
Closed
0
Turnover rate
0.0%
Company-owned
0
Corporate units in the system
% franchised
100%
vs corporate-owned
Net growth (yr3)
+200.0%
Net unit change last year
2022
3+2
Franchised units
2023
1
Franchised units
2024
0
Franchised units

Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.

Item 20 · 21 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).

AK
ME
VT
NH
MA
RI
CT
NY
NJ
PA
DE
MD
DC
WA
OR
CA
NV
ID
MT
WY
UT
CO
AZ
NM
ND
SD
NE
KS
OK
TX
MN
IA
MO
AR
LA
WI
IL
MS
TN
MI
IN
KY
AL
OH
WV
GA
VA
NC
SC
FL
HI
Registered · 21 states
Not registered

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.

No SBA loan data available for this brand.

FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17

Risk & Legal

65
Risk · 0-100
MODERATE65 / 100

Kajiken presents meaningful risk due to micro-scale operations, undisclosed unit economics, high relative investment, and early-stage growth trajectory without proven profitability benchmarks.

Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 rating

  1. 01MINOROnly 3 units in system with 200% YoY growth suggests extremely early-stage franchise with minimal track record and data reliability
  2. 02MINORFranchise Disclosure Document (Item 19) does not disclose average unit volume, net income, or revenue—critical metrics for ROI assessment
  3. 03MINORHigh investment range ($520,500–$830,600) relative to system size creates disproportionate risk with no transparent earnings claims to justify cost
  4. 04MINORRapid 200% growth (1 to 3 units) may indicate aggressive expansion without proven business model sustainability or operational infrastructure
  5. 05MED10-year term with $50,000 franchise fee locks franchisees into young brand with unproven unit economics and limited exit data

Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification

FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal

Contract & Territory Detail

Territory
Radius
Protected territory
Yes
Initial term
10 years
Renewal term
10 years
Online sales rights
Granted
Franchisor can compete
Yes
Hire a manager?
Allowed
Litigation count
0
Right of first refusal
Yes
Franchisor can buy back on resale
Mandatory arbitration
Yes
Jury trial waiver
Yes
Non-compete
2 yrs
Post-termination restriction
Owner-operator
Required
Governing law
California

Item 11

Training & Operations

Classroom training
72 hrs
On-the-job training
228 hrs

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

28 numbers

Locked
(415) 972-••••
CA
(503) 378-••••
OR
(503) 947-••••
OR

One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included

FDD download

Kajiken Restaurant · FDD (2024) PDF

Single-page checkout · instant download · CSV export of contacts available separately above