Bottom line
- Total investment $315K – $609K including a $40K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $979K/year (median $835K).
- Rated STRONG with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 35 loans (below the industry average).
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 Pokeworks unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
30%
In Yale's "attractive" band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Pokeworks units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.7M
on $8.3M purchase
Total debt
$6.7M
SBA $4.2M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Pokeworks franchisees operate fast-casual poke bowl restaurants, managing daily operations including food preparation, inventory control, staff scheduling, and customer service. They source fresh fish and ingredients, oversee point-of-sale systems, maintain health/safety compliance, and drive local marketing to compete in the growing but increasingly saturated poke market.
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 · 37 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
Pokeworks presents a CAUTION-level risk due to franchisor going concern status, anemic unit growth, missing profitability disclosures, and unclear franchisee economics relative to high capital requirements.
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status indicates franchisor financial distress or operational instability
- 02MEDStagnant unit growth (1.7% YoY) suggests market saturation, franchisee struggles, or brand decline
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed in Item 19 prevents ROI validation despite $979K average revenue
- 04MINORHigh investment ceiling ($609K) with 6% royalty requires $58.7K annual revenue just to break even on royalties
- 05MINORSmall system size (67 units) limits brand recognition and purchasing power advantages
- 06MINORNo disclosure of franchisee failure/turnover rates despite slow growth
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
94 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Pokeworks · FDD (2025) PDF