Verified — real FDD extraction
Not found in the SBA Franchise Directory — SBA financing may be unavailable; verify with your lender
ZENSHI
Food & Dining · independent · est. —
Zenshi is a sushi brand from Advanced Fresh Concepts, which operates fresh-sushi counters and kiosks inside supermarkets and other host stores. A franchisee runs a sushi station within a grocery store, preparing rolls and packaged sushi on-site each day and stocking the refrigerated case.
New to franchising? Start here
A franchise is a business where you (the franchisee) pay a company (the franchisor) for the right to open and run a location using their brand and system — think a local Anytime Fitness or Taco John's owned by a small-business owner, not the corporation.
Before you can buy in, U.S. law requires the franchisor to give you a Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) — a long legal filing covering its fees, finances, and history. The numbers on this page come straight from that document:
- Franchise fee — the one-time cost to buy in.
- Royalty — the ongoing cut of your sales you pay the franchisor.
- Item 20 — how many locations opened and closed, the basis for our verdict (from Proven & strong down to Distressed — or Too new to judge).
The verdict
Proven & steady
Distress
A real track record with an unremarkable region of the ledger: neither the growth nor the exits stand out, for better or worse. The main concern in the record: owners are leaving at a high rate.
Exit rate · latest year
13.2%
vs 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems
Cost to open
$45K–$151K
Item 7 total investment range
SBA loan defaults
No loan record
no SBA 7(a)/504 loans found for this brand
Behind the verdict
the record, factor by factor · Item 20
3-yr trend · Item 20 Table 1
terminations + ceased-ops vs. all exits · Table 3
transfers vs. base · Table 3
actual vs. projected openings · Table 5
Item 19 disclosure + completeness
Systemwide units
2023–2025
Survival record
FDD Item 20 · outlet status by year
In fiscal 2025, 292 of 2,217 franchised outlets left the system — a 13.2% annualized exit rate, vs 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems. Not every exit is a failure — but this is the measurable floor.
Show the outlet tables ↓Hide the evidence ↑
| Status (FTC) | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outlets at start | 0 | 0 | 2,274 |
| Opened | 0 | 2,226 | 1,806 |
| Transfers | 0 | 21 | 274 |
| Terminations | 0 | 6 | 208 |
| Non-renewals | 0 | 1 | 30 |
| Reacquired by franchisor | 0 | 0 | 159 |
| Ceased — other reasons | 0 | 2 | 54 |
| Outlets at end | 0 | 2,274 | 3,762 |
| Net change | 0 | +2274 | +1488 |
What it costs — and what it drags
FDD Items 5–7 · fees, investment, royalty
Buying in means a $6K franchise fee (Item 5) and a total investment of $45K–$151K (Item 7). The franchisor publishes no earnings claim (Item 19) — ask current and former franchisees for real numbers.
To open (Item 7)
$45K–$151K
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$6K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
—
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — this brand discloses no Item 19 earnings; validate with current & former owners.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$0
0% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$0
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for ZENSHI with an independent CPADistress signals
news-sourced · bankruptcies, closures, lawsuits
No recent closures, bankruptcies, or major lawsuits found in the news for ZENSHI. That's a good sign — but it reflects news coverage, not a guarantee.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing ZENSHI's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →ZENSHI franchise questions, answered from the filings
What percentage of ZENSHI franchises closed last year?
In ZENSHI's latest FDD Item 20 (fiscal 2025), 292 of 2,217 franchised outlets left the system — an annualized exit rate of 13.2% — compared with 8.6% across 137 food & dining systems tracked here. That counts terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons." There is no official failure rate, and not every exit is a failure, but this is the measurable floor.
How much does a ZENSHI franchise cost?
Per ZENSHI's 2025 FDD, buying in requires an initial franchise fee of $6K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $45K–$151K (Item 7).
Does ZENSHI disclose earnings (Item 19)?
No — ZENSHI's 2025 FDD makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. That is legal and common, but it means the franchisor publishes no earnings claim; ask current franchisees for real numbers.