Onigilly Japanese Kitchen Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $265K – $607K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Onigilly Japanese Kitchen is a quick-service franchise serving Japanese onigiri rice balls, bowls, and sides. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing food prep, staffing, and counter service.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Onigilly Japanese Kitchen franchise requires a total initial investment of $265K – $607K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
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 scored5 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $265K – $607K
- 41st pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned onlyn=2
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 48th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 5
- 23rd 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 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 $265K – $607K including a $35K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 41/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHFlat: no net change in franchised outlets in the latest year (0 opened, 0 closed) (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Onigilly Franchise LLC
- Parent company
- Onigilly, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Koji Kanematsu
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 343 Kearny Street, San Francisco, California 94108
- Auditor
- FACT Professional, Inc. (Gautam Kumar, President, CPA)
- Audited financials
Affiliated brands
- Onigilly IP
- is the owner of the Licensed Marks
- maintains a pr
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Koji Kanematsu
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2022
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 1
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 10% below the typical quick-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown14 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Construction and Leasehold Improvements | $57K | $267K | |
| Lease Deposits and Rent (Three Months) | $12K | $30K | |
| Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment | $97K | $123K | |
| Signage | $5K | $15K | |
| Computer, Software, and Point of Sale System | $6K | $9K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $8K | $8K | |
| Initial Inventory | $7K | $12K | |
| Utility Deposits | $1K | $3K | |
| Insurance Deposits (Three Months) | $2K | $5K | |
| Travel for Initial Training | $6K | $11K | |
| Professional Fees | $12K | $28K | |
| General Licenses and Permits | $3K | $11K | |
| Additional Funds (Three Months) | $15K | $50K | |
| Total initial investment | $265K | $607K |
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
- $265K – $607K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% |
| Technology fee | $415 |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $7K – $12K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Onigilly Japanese Kitchen is on file. 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 Onigilly Japanese Kitchen 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: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance
Based on a sample of only 2
- Item 19 type
- company owned only
- Sample size
- 2
- vs category median 19 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.6M→$1.7MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 54 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 6 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 781 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
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 8.0% (near the Quick-Service Restaurants median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
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 medians
How Onigilly Japanese Kitchen Compares
Category median of published Quick-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 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 5
- Opened
- 0
- 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
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- 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
- 0
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 6
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 1 state 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.
1
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
2 current owners across 1 state.
- UT 2
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
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
Onigilly presents moderate-to-high risk: a financially distressed franchisor with only 5 units, unverified financial claims, and thin profit margins that may not support the stated investment thesis.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · FACT Professional, Inc. (Gautam Kumar, President, CPA)
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor (Onigilly Franchise LLC) reports no operating revenue line in its FY2024 audited comparative statement of income; the income statement begins with SG&A expenses. FY2023 had $16,567 of Interest Income (Other Income) and FY2024 had $0. Net loss FY2024 was ($22,127). Auditor: FACT Professional, Inc. (Gautam Kumar, CPA), dated February 25, 2025.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 41 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDOnly 5 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests stalled expansion and limited proof of scalability
- 02MINOR6% royalty on $1.65M average revenue = $99K annual royalty plus 6% on food costs represents significant margin pressure
- 03MEDModest net income ($258.5K) on $1.65M revenue = only 15.7% net margin, leaving limited buffer for underperformance
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 | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 3 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 | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 1 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | San Francisco County, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
0 case reference(s): 0 pending, 0 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 100 hrs
- Training location
- San Francisco, California
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 7 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; franchisor must approve
- 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
2 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 Onigilly Japanese Kitchen franchise?
The total investment to open a Onigilly Japanese Kitchen franchise ranges from $265K – $607K, with an initial franchise fee of $35K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Onigilly Japanese Kitchen franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Onigilly Japanese Kitchen FDD discloses outlet figures from $1.6M to $1.7M but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Onigilly Japanese Kitchen?
Onigilly Japanese Kitchen is franchised by Onigilly Franchise LLC. Its parent company is Onigilly, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Onigilly Japanese Kitchen 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 Onigilly Japanese Kitchen FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Onigilly Japanese Kitchen's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Onigilly Japanese Kitchen (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 Onigilly Japanese Kitchen franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Onigilly Japanese Kitchen has 5 total units in the United States.
Is Onigilly Japanese Kitchen a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Onigilly Japanese Kitchen as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 41 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?
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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.