Bento Sushi Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Bento Sushi franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Bento Sushi discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it makes no representations about franchisee future financial performance or outlet historical performance.
What a Bento Sushi franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $2,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 10% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 12% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $20,200 – $145,550 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
10% royalty on gross sales; 0.75% insurance withholding; host facility margin up to 50% gross sales; additional national marketing fund up to 2% possible.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Bento Sushi system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 64 |
| Ceased operations | 8 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 15 |
| Closure rate | 12.5% of outlets |
159 franchised outlets ceased operations in 2022; significant recent contraction with transfers increasing.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Bento Sushi worth it? — how it compares to 164 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 12% of sales | steeper than 98% of quick service restaurants franchises |
| Startup cost | from $20,200 | cheaper than most (median $481,500) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 12.5% of outlets | worse than 88% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every quick service restaurants franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Bento Sushi
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance representations disclosed. Franchisor explicitly states it makes … We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Bento Sushi franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Bento Sushi franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $20,200–$145,550, including a $2,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Bento Sushi franchise owners make?
- Bento Sushi discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the Bento Sushi franchise fees?
- Bento Sushi's FDD discloses a $2,000 initial franchise fee, a 10% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 12% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 10% royalty on gross sales; 0.75% insurance withholding; host facility margin up to 50% gross sales; additional national marketing fund up to 2% possible.
- What is the Bento Sushi franchise profit margin?
- Bento Sushi discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the Bento Sushi franchise failure rate?
- 159 franchised outlets ceased operations in 2022; significant recent contraction with transfers increasing.
- How many Bento Sushi locations are there?
- Bento Sushi's FDD reports 64 total outlets, with 8 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 15 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Bento Sushi have complaints or lawsuits?
- Bento Sushi discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Bento Sushi franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Bento Sushi scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 12% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Bento Sushi to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 35246-202601-07 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Bento Sushi or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.