TaKoreanFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A TaKorean franchise requires a total initial investment of $337K – $782K, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 4.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2023 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2023 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $337K – $782K
- 22nd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- 14th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- 3rd pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 2
- 6th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Full-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Full-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
22% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA). Within the 15-30% range most franchise investors consider acceptable.
Bottom line
- Total investment $337K – $782K including a $40K franchise fee, 4.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.3M/year, with an estimated 22% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 38/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- TAKOREAN FRANCHISING, LLC
- Parent company
- TaKorean Holdings, Inc.
- CEO title
- CEO/Founder
- Mike Lenard
- CEO experience
- 14 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- DC
- HQ
- 500 Penn Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
- Auditor
- SALTI & ASSOCIATES, LLC
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $18K
- Most recent fiscal year
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2023
- Status as of 2023; may have been resolved in a later filing we don't yet have.
Overview
About
TaKorean franchisees operate Korean food quick-service restaurants, managing daily operations including food preparation, inventory management, customer service, and staff oversight. Franchisees are responsible for staffing, marketing locally, and maintaining brand standards across menu offerings and service quality.
- CEO
- Mike Lenard
- Headquarters
- DC
- Founded
- 2010
- FDD year
- 2023
- States available
- 1
FDD Item 7 · 2023 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $15K | $40K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $282K | $702K |
| Total initial investment | $337K | $782K |
Source: TaKorean 2023 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$170K
13.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
29%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $337K – $782K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $15K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 4.0%
- Gross Revenue · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 4.6 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 4.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $125 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $28K |
| Renewal fee | $4K |
| Total fee load | 5.0% of rev |
A 5.0% total fee load is unusually lean. More of each revenue dollar stays with the franchisee.
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Avg ebitda
- $120K
- Reported as EBITDA in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 21.5%
- Based on EBITDA / investment midpoint
- Item 19 type
- Affiliate
- Sample size
- 2 units
- vs category median 13 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $1.2M→$1.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 1264 Full-Service Restaurants brands
vs Full-Service Restaurants averages
How TaKorean Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 2
- 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
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 2
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 1
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 16 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 contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
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.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
TaKorean presents material risk due to a micro-sized system with insufficient operating history, unclear financial reporting, and significant investment variability that cannot be adequately validated against comparable franchisee performance.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · SALTI & ASSOCIATES, LLC⚠ Going-concern note flagged
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 38 / 100 rating
- 01MEDOnly 2 units in system with unknown growth trajectory indicates extremely limited operating history and validation data
- 02MINORMassive investment range ($337K-$781.5K) with no clear explanation for 131% variance suggests inconsistent unit economics or hidden costs
- 03MINORAverage net income of $120,457 on $1.31M revenue (9.2% net margin) is below industry standards for QSR; unclear if this is pre- or post-royalty
- 04MINORAbsence of Item 19 financial performance representation limits ability to validate franchisee profitability claims
- 05MINORTwo-unit system lacks statistical significance to project franchise success or identify operational best practices
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Population |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 50,000 |
| Online sales rights | 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 |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 5 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | District of Columbia |
| Governing law | District of Columbia |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 5 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 51 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 10 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- Toast POS
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Toast POS
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
16 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
TaKorean · FDD (2023) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a TaKorean franchise?
The total investment to open a TaKorean franchise ranges from $337K – $782K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do TaKorean franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the TaKorean FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is TaKorean's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for TaKorean (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 TaKorean franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, TaKorean has 2 total units in the United States, including 0 franchised units and 2 company-owned units.
Is TaKorean a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TaKorean as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 38 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.