Potato Corner Food Truck Franchise Cost & 2024 FDD Data
50/100
Second tier
50 this brand51 Quick-Service Restaurants medianlikely 32–68: narrower with more SBA loans and a newer filing (low confidence)
Higher is better · an editorial assessment, not investment advice
#1,695 of 3,068 graded brands
Why a B: Held back by scale, legal record and transparency. See all six factors
- Total investment
- $191K – $400K
- Mobile Restaurant format
- Avg gross sales
- not disclosed
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from the FDD filing. Analysis by FranchiseVerdict · Methodology · Website · Report an error · Franchisor? Claim this listing
This data is from a 2024 FDD. Current terms may differ. Always verify with the franchisor's latest disclosure document.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2024 FDD
Per the 2024 FDD, a Potato Corner Food Truck franchise requires a total initial investment of $191K – $400K for the Mobile Restaurant format (the filing prices $191K to $829K across two formats), including a $30K franchise fee. Once open, the ongoing royalty is 7.0%. 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 verdict grade - an editorial assessment, not investment advice - reflects that. Verdict grade: B (Second tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice.
Sources: 2024 FDD · What one unit could make and lose →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high (issued more than two years ago)
Evidence for the headline figures: partial✓ 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 4 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
Quick verdict · vs Quick-Service Restaurants median
Top edge: green = better than the Quick-Service Restaurants median by more than 10%, red = worse by more than 10%, gray = within 10% or no benchmark. Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a).
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Methodology
Bottom line
- RETURNSThe FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it discloses no revenue or earnings figures; Item 19 is voluntary, and the Financial performance section explains what that does and does not mean.
- GROWTHIn the latest Item 20 year, the number of franchised outlets grew by 1 (6 opened, 5 left the franchised system, 1 of them bought back by the franchisor).
- DATAThe FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19, so it discloses no revenue or earnings figures; Item 19 is voluntary, and the Financial performance section explains what that does and does not mean. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
AT STAKEOne unit at the Item 7 midpoint: $38K a year in payments on assumed SBA 7(a)-style terms.You put in about $59K of your own cash and personally guarantee a $236K loan. Assumptions are labeled in Sales; not investment advice.See what one unit could make and lose
Things to check before you sign (3)
- The franchisor keeps the right to compete inside your territory (Item 12, territory).
- The franchisor receives rebates or payments from suppliers you buy from (Item 8, required suppliers).
- An owner must run the business personally (Item 15, owner participation). Ask whether a trained manager can ever stand in.
Checked and clear: no auditor doubt that the franchisor can keep operating, no pending lawsuit naming the franchisor and the full filing on file. Not on file here, so ask: unit trend, SBA charge-off rate against the category median and jury-trial waiver.
What to do next
Step 1: Read the FDD itself.
Free: the franchisor must give it to you at least 14 days before you sign or pay. Or look it up in a state registry (Wisconsin, Minnesota, California). What to read first.
Step 2: Talk to current and former owners.
Free: Item 20 of the FDD lists every current owner and those who left last year, most with a phone number. Questions to ask.
Step 3: Talk to an SBA lender.
Free: the SBA's Lender Match. Ask what you would personally guarantee and what the monthly payment would be. If you plan to use retirement savings, ask a CPA about the rules for that first.
Step 4: Have a franchise attorney review the FDD and agreement.
Free: your state bar's lawyer referral service can name franchise lawyers, and many offer a short first consultation. Bring the checks listed above.
Research steps, not investment or legal advice.
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost (the Item 7 midpoint) is 39% below the Quick-Service Restaurants median ($487K).
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7 (fees and startup costs)
Do you qualify? The filing states no minimum net worth or liquid capital. Ask PCJV USA, LLC (Item 1: 8657 Hayden Place, Culver City, California 90232) and your lender what they require, and keep living costs for the first year outside the deal.
Item 7 (startup costs) · 2 formats · 2024 FDD
Every building format
The filing prints a separate Item 7 table for each format.
2 formats, from $191K to $829K
| Format | Total investment | Page |
|---|---|---|
| Single Potato Corner Restaurant | $242K – $829K | p.20 |
| Mobile Restaurant(the range shown above) | $191K – $400K | p.22 |
Full Item 7 breakdown13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Truck | $95K | $200K | |
| Business and Food Truck Licenses | $500 | $1.5K | |
| Food Truck Commissary | $800 | $2K | |
| Food Storage Space (Offsite Warehouse or Shared Kitchen) | $800 | $3K | |
| POS System and Software | $14K | $20K | |
| Opening Inventory-Non- Proprietary Products | $8K | $15K | |
| Opening Inventory-Trade Secret Food Ingredients and Potato Corner Proprietary Products | $5K | $10K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $1K | $5K | |
| Insurance - Liability & Workers compensation (initial deposit) | $1K | $6K | |
| Legal Fees/Organizational Expenses | $2.5K | $7.5K | |
| Training Expenses (Including Travel and Living Expenses) | $2K | $10K | |
| Initial Franchise Fee | $30K | $30K | |
| ADDITIONAL FUNDS (3 months) | $30K | $90K | |
| Total initial investment | $191K | $400K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. The total row is the total as printed in Item 7. Actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 6 · what you pay once you are open
Ongoing fees
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% |
| Technology feeMonthly Software License Fee of up to $600 per calendar month for POS and inventory control software; one-time setup fee of $400 | $600/month |
| Transfer fee | $24,000 |
| Renewal fee | $24,000 |
| Total fee loadnear the Quick-Service Restaurants median of 7.0% | 7.0% of sales |
What do units actually make?
This FDD makes no Item 19 financial performance representation - a voluntary item - so unit sales aren't disclosed.
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19 (sales and earnings)
Items 6 (other fees), 7 (startup costs) and 19 (sales and earnings) · assumptions labeled
What you could make and lose: one unit
What one Potato Corner Food Truck unit would ask of you, from the filing's Item 7 total and labeled assumptions.
How these figures are worked out
- Loan (assumption): 80% of the $295K Item 7 midpoint (Mobile Restaurant format) is a $236K loan, paid over 10 years at 10.5%: $38K a year. SBA 7(a)-style terms on a long-term rate; your lender sets yours.
What you put at risk
Your own cash in: about $59K Assumption (the part the loan does not cover of the $295K Item 7 midpoint), plus whatever anything Item 7 leaves out (its notes say what). The loan is $236K.
Personal guarantee. SBA 7(a) loans require a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20% or more of the business. If the unit cannot pay, the lender can collect from you personally, which can include your savings and your home. The worst case is losing the cash you put in and still owing the rest of the loan.
Gross sales are not profit, and none of these figures is take-home pay until tax and every operating cost are paid. The assumptions are ours, not the filing's. Not investment advice.
Returns modelOne unit · several units · editable
Potato Corner Food Truck makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no gross sales figures are disclosed. The return models need one gross sales figure to start from, plus the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions; nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · one unit
What would one Potato Corner Food Truck unit leave you each year after the loan payment?
Not disclosed in Item 19. Enter your own gross sales assumption
Gross sales, not profit: the costs below decide what is left.
No Item 19 figures are on file for this brand. Enter your own costs from a lease quote, a payroll plan and calls with current owners.
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.
Item 7 midpoint of $191K to $400K
Item 7's additional-funds line is already in the total
Left after the loan payment · per year
The unit's EBITDA minus the assumed loan payment. Before tax, depreciation and any cost your inputs leave out (insurance, accounting and legal, licenses, technology fees): not take-home pay.
Gross sales are not profit. Neither the filing nor a stated assumption on this page supplies annual revenue, COGS, labor, rent / occupancy and other operating costs. Enter your own (a lease quote, owner calls) and the model runs on it.
Loan of $236K at 10.5% over 10 years, an assumption, not a quote. Return and payback are before tax, depreciation and the costs above. The loan usually needs your personal guarantee.
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: 2024 FDD · filed by PCJV USA, LLC
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 verdict 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.
vs Quick-Service Restaurants medians
How Potato Corner Food Truck 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.
System figures: see Potato Corner
System figures: see Potato Corner
Government records
SBA loan data
Matched to this brand from SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What are the risks?
Main risk in the grade: legal, then scale and transparency. The reasons are below.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Verdict grade + FDD Items 3 (litigation), 4 (bankruptcy), 8 (required suppliers), 16 (what you may sell), 21 (audited financials)
Risk and legal
Grade B: Second tier, 50/100 (category median 51); the full grade is at the top of the page.
How the grade is built
Why a B, factor by factor
- Financial health NeutralAudited financials; no going-concern doubt
- Unit economics NeutralNo Item 19 sales figure to set against the investment, so neutral
- Unit growth NeutralTurnover 7.4%
- Scale Weighs on itFranchising since 2011
- Legal Weighs on it, weakest dimension2 matters naming the franchisor among the Item 3 matters we list
- Transparency Weighs on itItem 19 declines to disclose financial performance; audited financials
- Adjustments after the six dimensions (-1 point)Rounding: the score is kept as a whole number, which moved it by 1 point.
From the six scored dimensions, an editorial assessment, not investment advice. How the score is built
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
1) California Citation and Stipulation (2016): DBO registration violations 2011-2014, $20,000 penalty, now resolved. 2) Cinco Corporation et al. v. Guy Koren et al. (2018); ownership/membership dispute, settled via GKCG purchase of Cinco interests and dismissed with prejudice.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · AP tax group
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
The revenue figures are in the Franchisor tab, under The franchisor.
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Franchisor (PCJV USA, LLC) total revenues of $1,967,552 for fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, stated in Item 6 as 'based on our audited financial statements.' The full audited balance sheet and income statement (Exhibit I) were not present in the extracted text, so total_assets, total_liabilities, net_worth, net_income, auditor_name, and prior-year revenue could not be captured.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
Ask what the franchisor earns on the supplies it sells you or the rebates it takes (Item 8).
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Franchisor takes supplier rebates: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
System figures: see Potato Corner
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before your own operating costs.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12 (territory), 15 (owner participation) and 17 (renewal, termination and disputes)
Contract and territory detail
| Protected territory | Yes |
|---|---|
| Exclusive territory | No |
| Territory radius | 1–5 mi |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Who runs it (Item 15) | Owner must run it |
| Non-compete (years) | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles) | 2 mi |
| Right of first refusal | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Los Angeles County, California |
| Governing law | CA |
Items 5 (initial fees), 7 (startup costs), 12 (territory) and 20 (outlet counts) · development agreement
Area development (several units)
A development fee of $20,000 per unit you commit to. If you miss the schedule, you lose the protected development area.
Every term, with its page
- Development fee
- $20,000 per unit committed.
2024 FDD p.12
“Multi-Unit Development Program If you agree to develop a minimum of 2 to 10 or more Potato Corner Restaurants under a Multi-Unit Development Agreement, you will pay us an “Exclusive Development Fee” of $20,000 for each Potato Corner Restaurant you will develop in an Exclusive Venue within the Development Area, a “Non-Exclusive Development Fee” of $15,000 for each Potato Corner Restaurant you will ” - If you miss the schedule
- You lose the protected development area.
2024 FDD p.44
“If your rights become non-exclusive due to your failure to comply with your development schedule, or if we initially grant you a non-exclusive right to develop and open Potato Corner Restaurants, we will have the right to operate or grant a license or franchise to any other person to operate a Potato Corner Restaurant in your Development Area, without restriction, subject only to the territorial r” - Signed, not yet open
- 4 franchises sold but not open at year end (Item 20, Table 5; see Growth). Ask how long they have been waiting and why.
Each unit still needs its own Item 7 investment on top of the development fee ($20K times the units you commit to). Have a franchise attorney read the schedule and the default terms before you sign.
Items 10 (financing), 11 (training and support)
Training and operations
- On-the-job training
- 72 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects site, subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- POS System and inventory control software (franchisor-designated)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 (initial fees) & 11 (training and support)
Franchisor support
Franchisee contacts
We hold no owner list for this brand. Item 20 of the FDD lists the current and former owners; the free FDD is the source.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to open a Potato Corner Food Truck franchise?
Per the 2024 FDD, the total investment to open a Potato Corner Food Truck franchise ranges from $191K to $400K for the Mobile Restaurant format, with an initial franchise fee of $30K. Across every format the filing prices, totals run from $191K to $829K (two formats). This is the Item 7 total in the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD): the startup costs the franchisor lists, such as build-out, equipment, inventory and working capital. It usually leaves out buying land or a building; Item 7's notes say what is excluded.
What do Potato Corner Food Truck franchise owners earn?
Potato Corner Food Truck makes no financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD - a voluntary item under the FTC Franchise Rule - so no gross sales 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 verdict 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 Potato Corner Food Truck?
Potato Corner Food Truck is franchised by PCJV USA, LLC. Its parent company is GK Capital Group, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Potato Corner Food Truck 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. The Potato Corner Food Truck FDD does not make an Item 19 financial performance representation, so this page shows no earnings figure.
What is Potato Corner Food Truck's franchise failure rate?
There is no published franchise failure rate, and Potato Corner Food Truck has too few resolved SBA 7(a) loans on file (fewer than 10) to show an SBA charge-off rate that would mean anything. The SBA charge-off rate is the share of a brand's resolved SBA 7(a) loans to its franchisees that the SBA wrote off, including purchased guarantees. Resolved means paid in full or charged off; active loans are excluded because their outcome is not yet known. It is a lending outcome, not a count of closed businesses. Review the turnover and closure figures in Item 20 of the FDD and speak with current and former franchisees.
Is Potato Corner Food Truck a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict gives Potato Corner Food Truck a B Verdict grade (Second tier) with a verdict score of 50 out of 100 (higher is better), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Held back by scale (franchising since 2011), legal record (2 matters naming the franchisor among the Item 3 matters we list) and transparency (Item 19 declines to disclose financial performance). The “Why a B” section on this page lists all six dimensions and any adjustment. Speak with current franchisees before making any investment decision.
Other Quick-Service Restaurants franchises
Similar investment first, then by grade
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.