Mensho Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $578K – $3.5M
- Disclosed sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Mensho is a ramen franchise, led by chef Tomoharu Shono, serving innovative farm-to-bowl ramen. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing broth and noodle production, staffing, and service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Mensho franchise requires a total initial investment of $578K – $3.5M, including a $30K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2026 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - the current year's filing
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored4 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $578K – $3.5M
- 26th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 10
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Full-Service Restaurants median · 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 $578K – $3.5M including a $30K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 55/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +5 franchised outlets in the latest year (5 opened, 0 closed); 7 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- DATAThis franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Mensho Franchise, Inc.
- Parent company
- MENSHO, Inc. (Japanese corporation)
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2026 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
- Tomoharu Shono
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 672 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
- Auditor
- SKY ACCOUNTANCY CORPORATION
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $406K
- vs $922K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Tomoharu Shono
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 198% above the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee (See Note 2) | $30K | $30K | |
| Security Deposit (See Note 2) | $10K | $10K | |
| Training Fee (See Note 3) | $15K | $15K | |
| Lease Security Deposit, Rent (Pre-Opening Date Period), and other Payments under the lease for the Approved Location (See Note 4) | $12K | $450K | |
| Deposits and payments for licenses and permits including security deposits (excluding lease security deposit), utility deposits, business licenses, and other pre-paid expenses (See Notes 5 and 6) | $3K | $5K | |
| Architects and Design (See Note 7) | $10K | $50K | |
| Construction/Leasehold Improvements and Signs (See Notes 8 and 9) | $300K | $2.5M | |
| Equipment, Supplies, and Décor Package bought from Mensho TK (See Note 10) | $75K | $150K | |
| Furniture, Furnishings, Décor, Fixtures, Equipment, and Supplies bought from Third Parties (See Note 11) | $25K | $50K | |
| Computer and Security Equipment (See Note 12) | $10K | $21K | |
| Professional Fees (See Note 13) | $3K | $10K | |
| Opening Proprietary Products (See Note 14) | $3K | $6K | |
| Other Opening Inventory and Supplies (Non-Proprietary) (See Note 15) | $9K | $18K | |
| Pre-Opening Labor (See Note 16) | $31K | $75K | |
| Insurance (See Note 17) | $4K | $7K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing (See Note 18) | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - 3 Months (Working Capital) (See Note 19) | $35K | $55K | |
| Total initial investment | $578K | $3.5M |
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
- $578K – $3.5M
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $55K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $30K – $30K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 6.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $215 |
| Training fee | $15K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $9K – $18K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Mensho makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Mensho unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
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: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
No financial performance representation
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that.
Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 6.0% (near the Full-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
This franchisor makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule, and this filing states that it makes none, so no revenue or earnings figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
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 Full-Service Restaurants medians
How Mensho Compares
Category median of published Full-Service Restaurants brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 10
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- N/A
- Company-owned
- 4
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 60%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 7
- 0.70 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 10
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 2 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
2
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
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
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · SKY ACCOUNTANCY CORPORATION
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
The three PNG pages in this folder (p074-p076) are all from the Area Development Agreement exhibit (Exhibit A to the 2026 Mensho Franchise, Inc. FDD): a section cover page, the agreement title page, and the table of contents. No audited financial statements (Item 21), balance sheet, income statement, or Independent Auditor's Report are present in these images, so no financial figures or auditor could be extracted.
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 55 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORExplosive unit growth (500% YoY) suggests either aggressive expansion or unreliable reporting; only 10 units total indicates nascent system with unproven scalability
- 02MEDNo Item 19 financial performance disclosure (Avg Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) prevents validation of profitability claims and return on investment
- 03MINORWide investment range ($578K–$3.46M) without corresponding revenue/profitability data creates opacity around ROI expectations and cost structure
- 04MEDExtremely young system (10 units) means limited franchisee track record, no long-term operational data, and higher failure risk for early adopters
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 6.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 1 mi |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | San Francisco, California (mediation required first, then litigation) |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 9 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 163 hrs
- Training location
- California (franchisor-designated location) plus on-site at franchised restaurant
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee proposes, franchisor approves
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Toast
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
10 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Mensho franchise?
The total investment to open a Mensho franchise ranges from $578K – $3.5M, 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 Mensho franchise owners earn?
Mensho makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no unit revenue figures are disclosed. Declining to publish one is lawful and is not evidence of how the outlets perform. It does mean that less about this brand can be verified from its filing, and the FranchiseVerdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Mensho?
Mensho is franchised by Mensho Franchise, Inc.. Its parent company is MENSHO, Inc. (Japanese corporation). Source: FDD Item 1, 2026 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Mensho 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 Mensho FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Mensho's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Mensho (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 Mensho franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Mensho has 10 total units in the United States, including 6 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Mensho a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Mensho as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 55 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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 Mensho, 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.