Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill
Bottom line
- Total investment $113K – $623K including a $30K franchise fee.
- Average unit revenue of $454K/year (median $423K).
- Rated CAUTION with a risk score of 75/100. SBA loan default rate of 0.0% across 1 loans (below the industry average).
- 20 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
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 Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
14%
Below typical band (30–60%)
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$454K
on $2.3M purchase
Total debt
$1.8M
SBA $1.1M + senior + seller note
Overview
About
Franchisees operate fast-casual teriyaki grill restaurants serving Asian cuisine with customizable bowls and proteins. Day-to-day operations involve food preparation, inventory management, staff supervision, customer service, and point-of-sale management in a limited-service restaurant format. Franchisees are responsible for local marketing, hiring/training, and achieving weekly sales targets to meet minimum royalty obligations.
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 · 6 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
Samurai Sam's presents extreme risk due to going concern status, microscopic 12-unit system, extensive litigation history, missing financial disclosures, and regulatory violations across multiple states.
Score breakdown · what drove the 75 / 100 rating
- 01HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial distress or viability questions at corporate level
- 02MINOROnly 12 units system-wide with unknown/likely stagnant growth — suggests failed expansion and weak brand momentum
- 03HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving breach of contract, misrepresentation, and state franchise act violations in MD, NY, VA — pattern of compliance and disclosure failures
- 04MEDNet Income not disclosed in Item 19 — prevents ROI analysis and suggests poor unit economics or unwillingness to disclose
- 05MINORNo protected territory — direct competition from other franchisees and company-owned locations creates cannibalization risk
- 06MINORRoyalty floor of $300/week ($15,600 annually) is punitive for underperforming locations and creates cash flow pressure
- 07MINORHigh investment range ($112k-$623k) with opaque profitability — risk-reward misaligned
- 08MINORState administrative actions indicate systemic disclosure and registration violations — red flag for franchisor integrity
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
6 numbers
One-time purchase · CSV download · Validation questions included
FDD download
Samurai Sam’s Teriyaki Grill · FDD (2025) PDF