Manchu WOK Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Manchu WOK is a quick-service franchise serving wok-prepared Chinese food, often in malls and food courts. Franchisees run the locations, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Manchu WOK franchise requires a total initial investment of $490K – $821K, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.9M[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $490K – $821K
- 75th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- 29th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 86th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 15
- 45th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $490K – $821K including a $30K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.9M/year (median $1.1M).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 46/100 (higher is better).
- LEGAL16 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- MTY Franchising USA, Inc.
- Parent company
- MTY Franchising Inc. (MTY Canada)
- Ultimate parent
- MTY Food Group, Inc.
- Predecessor
- Manchu WOK Franchising USA Inc. (MWF); Manchu WOK (USA), Inc. (MWUSA)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Eric Lefebvre
- CEO experience
- 14 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- TN
- HQ
- 9311 East Via de Ventura, Scottsdale, Arizona 85258
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Montreal, Canada
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $580.3M
- vs $472.1M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Eric Lefebvre
- Headquarters
- AZ
- Founded
- 2015
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 11
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost is about average for a quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| Leasehold Improvements and Design Costs incl. signagenot refundable | $220K | $340K | |
| Equipment, Fixtures, and Furnishingsnot refundable | $89K | $126K | |
| POS System & Installationnot refundable | $4K | $10K | |
| Construction Depositnot refundable | $30K | $30K | |
| Development Construction Feenot refundable | $3K | $15K | |
| Lease Administration Feenot refundable | $8K | $8K | |
| Security Depositnot refundable | $15K | $75K | |
| Sublease Feenot refundable | $500 | $3K | |
| Rentnot refundable | $15K | $75K | |
| Nonfood, Inventory and Suppliesnot refundable | $15K | $20K | |
| Initial Food, Inventory and Other Costsnot refundable | $8K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening, Marketing and Promotion Feenot refundable | $10K | $10K | |
| Initial Training Expensesnot refundable | $6K | $8K | |
| Architect Feesnot refundable | $18K | $25K | |
| Business License, and Permitsnot refundable | $150 | $500 | |
| Additional Funds (incl. insurance and Initial phase of 3 months)not refundable | $15K | $30K | |
| Digital Menu Systemnot refundable | $4K | $6K | |
| Total initial investment | $490K | $821K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $490K – $821K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $6K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Inventory (initial) | $8K – $10K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 57% above the quick-service restaurants norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$265K
14.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
39%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
31 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Manchu WOK unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
39%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Manchu WOK units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
37.3%
4.88× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.22×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$4.3M
on $13.3M purchase
Total debt
$9.0M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.9M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Sample size
- 15 outlets
- vs category median 20
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 782 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.9M/year in gross sales. Median is $1.1M — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.9x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -16.7% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How Manchu WOK Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 15
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 20.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -16.7%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -16.7%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 0
- Closed (3yr)
- 1
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 2
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Projected new
- 0
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Ceased ops
- 6.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $275K
- Median loan
- $275K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (1 loan) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Manchu WOK presents HIGH RISK: a contracting 15-unit system with undisclosed profitability, active going concern issues, extensive litigation history, and unprotected territories — indicating structural franchisor problems that jeopardize franchisee ROI.
Litigation (Item 3)
All litigation involves affiliates and predecessors (Extreme Pita, Kahala Franchising, Famous Dave's, Wetzel's Pretzels, Papa Murphy's, BF Acquisition/Triune, SweetFrog, Blimpie, Maui Wowi). No active litigation directly naming MTY Franchising USA/Manchu Wok as defendant. Two FY2024 suits filed by Kahala Franchising and Cold Stone Leasing as plaintiff.
Largest disclosed settlement: $4,000,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Montreal, Canada
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 46 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOROnly 15 units with unknown/stagnant growth trajectory suggests system contraction or stability crisis
- 02HIGHGoing Concern = False indicates franchisor financial distress and potential inability to support franchisees
- 03HIGH21 disclosed litigation actions involving predecessors/affiliates reveal pattern of breach of contract and misrepresentation claims
- 04MEDNet income not disclosed despite $1.89M average revenue — likely unprofitable unit economics or hidden losses
- 05MINORNo protected territory exposes franchisees to direct competition from other Manchu WOK locations and company-owned stores
- 06MINORHigh initial investment ($490K-$821K) paired with 7% royalty on gross (not net) creates unsustainable payback period
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | none |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 3 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Arizona |
| Litigation count | 16 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
All litigation involves affiliates and predecessors (Extreme Pita, Kahala Franchising, Famous Dave's, Wetzel's Pretzels, Papa Murphy's, BF Acquisition/Triune, SweetFrog, Blimpie, Maui Wowi). No active litigation directly naming MTY Franchising USA/Manchu Wok as defendant. Two FY2024 suits filed by Kahala Franchising and Cold Stone Leasing as plaintiff.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 120 hrs
- Training location
- Training restaurant, KTEC (Kahala Training & Education Center) in Scottsdale, AZ, virtually, or other designated location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; franchisor must approve
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Vivonet Point of Sale (POS)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Vivonet Point of Sale (POS)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
5 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Manchu WOK · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Manchu WOK franchise?
The total investment to open a Manchu WOK franchise ranges from $490K – $821K, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Manchu WOK franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Manchu WOK FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.9M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Manchu WOK FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Manchu WOK FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Manchu WOK's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Manchu WOK (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Manchu WOK franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Manchu WOK has 15 total units in the United States, including 15 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Manchu WOK a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Manchu WOK as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 46 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
If you represent Manchu WOK, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.