Tabu Shabu Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $281K – $726K
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Tabu Shabu is a full-service franchise offering shabu-shabu hot pot where guests cook proteins and vegetables in seasoned broths. Franchisees run the restaurants, managing ingredients, service, and staffing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Tabu Shabu franchise requires a total initial investment of $281K – $726K, including a $35K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. The 2023 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above 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: high - issued more than two years ago
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 scored6 of 6 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $281K – $726K
- 11th pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Incl. company outlets
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 8th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 8
- 11th 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 $281K – $726K including a $35K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNS2022 annual Gross Sales for all 7 Restaurants open the full 2022 calendar year (4 affiliate-owned, 3 franchisee-owned). Gross Sales = total revenue excluding sales tax and promotional discounts. Table also shows a "Net Gross Sales" line (Gross Sales less COGS, payroll, royalty and marketing fees only), but this is a partial contribution figure that excludes rent, utilities and other operating costs, so it is not a franchisee net income; No average profit figure is shown. Avg 965,673; median 1,044,164; range 409,535-1,412,504. Data POS-derived, unaudited.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 58/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +1 franchised outlets in the latest year (1 opened, 0 closed); 1 signed but not yet open (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
- Tabu Shabu Holdings, LLC
- Parent company
- Tabu Shabu Restaurant, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 8 of the 2023 FDD
- CEO title
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Jeff Chon
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- California
- HQ
- 170 E 17th St #200C, Costa Mesa, California 92627
- Auditor
- Schild & Co., Inc.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $149K
- vs $81K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Jeff Chon
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2016
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 2
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 26% below the typical full-service restaurants franchise.
Source: FDD 2023 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35K | $35K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $221K | $641K |
| Total initial investment | $281K | $726K |
Source: Tabu Shabu 2023 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $281K – $726K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $50K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $35K – $35K
- 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 |
| Training fee | $300 |
| Transfer fee | $3K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 6.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2023 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Tabu Shabu 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 Tabu Shabu 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: 2023 FDD
Financial Performance
2022 annual Gross Sales for all 7 Restaurants open the full 2022 calendar year (4 affiliate-owned, 3 franchisee-owned). Gross Sales = total revenue excluding sales tax and promotional discounts. Table also shows a "Net Gross Sales" line (Gross Sales less COGS, payroll, royalty and marketing fees only), but this is a partial contribution figure that excludes rent, utilities and other operating costs, so it is not a franchisee net income; No average profit figure is shown. Avg 965,673; median 1,044,164; range 409,535-1,412,504. Data POS-derived, unaudited.
Includes company-owned outlets
- Item 19 type
- gross sales
- Range (low → high)
- $665K→$1.2MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 38 of the 2023 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2022
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2023
- Disclosed in the 2023 filing, covering 2022
- Transparency
- 9 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · above
Compared against 801 Full-Service Restaurants brands
Item 19 · by group
What the filing does disclose
Item 19 of this FDD reports performance in more than one group. We publish no single average for this brand; the groups the filing does disclose are listed below, quoted from its own Item 19 table.
Each row below is quoted from the FDD's own Item 19 table. Gross sales are not profit.
Incl. company outletsItem 19 detail
2022 annual Gross Sales for all 7 Restaurants open the full 2022 calendar year (4 affiliate-owned, 3 franchisee-owned). Gross Sales = total revenue excluding sales tax and promotional discounts. Table also shows a "Net Gross Sales" line (Gross Sales less COGS, payroll, royalty and marketing fees only), but this is a partial contribution figure that excludes rent, utilities and other operating costs, so it is not a franchisee net income; No average profit figure is shown. Avg 965,673; median 1,044,164; range 409,535-1,412,504. Data POS-derived, unaudited.
individual unit
| Segment | Sample | Avg |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Mesa (affiliate-owned) | 1 | $1.4M |
| North Park (affiliate-owned) | 1 | $1.0M |
| Carlsbad (affiliate-owned) | 1 | $1.1M |
| Huntington Beach (affiliate-owned) | 1 | $410K |
| Orange (franchisee-owned) | 1 | $1.2M |
| Thousand Oaks (franchisee-owned) | 1 | $947K |
| San Jose (franchisee-owned) | 1 | $665K |
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
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Operator retention
Net unit growth of +300.0% over 3 years (1 opened, 0 closed).
Multi-unit rate
Only 1% of franchisees own multiple units. Could indicate challenging economics or a young system where operators haven't had time to expand.
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 Tabu Shabu 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 2023 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 8
- Opened
- 1
- 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
- 50%
- vs corporate-owned
- Multi-unit owners
- 1.0%
- Net growth (3-yr)
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
- 3-yr CAGR
- Outlier (see FDD)
- Likely small-sample artifact
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 1
- 0.13 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 2
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
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)
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
3 current owners across 1 state.
- CA 3
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.
Fast growth in a small system. Newer franchisors expanding quickly may not yet have the support infrastructure of larger systems.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- $515K
- Median loan
- $515K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Insufficient SBA coverage: 1 loan, rate hidden below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Under 10 loans (1)
- 5-yr charge-off
- Under 10 loans (1)
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
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
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Schild & Co., Inc.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 58 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORNegative franchisor net worth -$43,266
- 02MINORPositive net income $57,990
- 03MINORNo litigation, no bankruptcy, no going-concern
- 04MEDItem 19 disclosed, audited financials
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 2023 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory sizeℹ | Radius/Boundaries |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Costa Mesa, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 30 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 46 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 40 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- franchisor approval of franchisee-identified site
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Aloha
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Aloha
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
3 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 Tabu Shabu franchise?
The total investment to open a Tabu Shabu franchise ranges from $281K – $726K, 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 Tabu Shabu franchise owners earn?
Item 19 of the Tabu Shabu FDD discloses outlet figures from $665K to $1.2M 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 Tabu Shabu?
Tabu Shabu is franchised by Tabu Shabu Holdings, LLC. Its parent company is Tabu Shabu Restaurant, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2023 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Tabu Shabu 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 Tabu Shabu FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Tabu Shabu's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Tabu Shabu (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 Tabu Shabu franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Tabu Shabu has 8 total units in the United States, including 4 franchised units and 4 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Tabu Shabu a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Tabu Shabu as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 58 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.