City Wok vs Pokeworks Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of City Wok vs Pokeworks including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
City Wok Franchise
Pokeworks Franchise
Investment $243,400 - $568,500$263,000 - $1,968,000
Franchise Fee $30,000$25,000 - $35,000
Royalty Fee 5%6%
Advertising Fee -1.5%
Year Founded 19902015
Year Franchised 20042016
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Term Of Agreement 10 years-
Renewal Fee $5K-


Business Experience Requirements
 
City Wok Franchise
Pokeworks Franchise
Experience
  • General business experience
    		• -

    Financing Options
     
    City Wok Franchise
    Pokeworks Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/No-/-
    Start-up Costs No/No-/-
    Equipment No/No-/-
    Inventory No/No-/-
    Receivables No/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support
     
    City Wok Franchise
    Pokeworks Franchise
    Training -On-The-Job Training: 40 hours Classroom Training: 40 hours Additional Training: At training center
    Support Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperativesMeetings/Conventions Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Franchisee Intranet Platform
    Marketing Co-op advertisingCo-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
    Operations International franchisees required to buy multiple units/master licenses; 100% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (65% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    		Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 12

    Expansion Plans
     
    City Wok Franchise
    Pokeworks Franchise
    US Expansion -Yes
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion YesYes

    Company Overviews

    About City Wok

    The dream was a contemporary yet casual restaurant offering authentic, upscale Asian cuisine. Today, City Wok is proud to be recognized by Restaurant Hospitality magazine as personifying the future of fast-casual dining.

    Stuart Davis opened his first City Wok in 1990, working extensively with Hing Fan Chan, an executive chef trained in Kowloon, China. While other restaurants may water down, Americanize or over-expand their menus to appeal to the masses, Davis created the City Wok concept from his desire to deliver authentic Chinese dishes in a style that appeals to Americans.

    About Pokeworks

    Pokéworks is a ground-breaking, healthy fast-casual restaurant concept that began on a rainy day in December of 2015 in a tiny location in Midtown Manhattan.  Today, it has grown into one of the largest and fastest growing poke brands in the nation and one we can proudly say is anchored almost entirely with multi-unit institutional franchisees.
    Pokéworks was born on that quiet Winter day with a trickle of curious New Yorkers that wondered in to experience poke for the first time.  Weeks later, hundreds stood in line outside our tiny restaurant willing to wait 45 minutes or more to build their own poke burrito or bowl.  While more than 700 New Yorkers were enjoying our poke per day, our ground breaking “The ‘Sushi Burrito’ has hit NYC and its amazing” video went viral and received more than 42 million views. As a result, Pokéworks quickly became known worldwide as one of the leading poke franchise brands.

    Media consensus is that Pokéworks’ extraordinary consumer appeal is fueled by the exceptional quality, efficiency and affordability of our healthy chef-driven menu.  Restaurateurs on the other hand marvel at our easy to execute menu as well as the simplicity of our kitchens with no hood, no deep frying and no in-ground grease trap requirement. While growing quickly with experienced multi-unit franchisees, Pokéworks has joined forces with Toridoll Holdings Corporation. The agreement with the $1.6 billion publicly traded restaurant giant (TYO: 3397) was specifically designed by both parties to leverage Toridoll’s considerable expertise in global brand development while allowing Pokéworks to maintain its successful founder-led focus and control. Our goal is to further solidify Pokéworks’ high-quality and affordable brand as the leader in the fast-growing poke segment world-wide.

    The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Pokéworks franchised restaurant ranges between $263,000 to $661,000. This includes $35,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliates. If you enter into a Multiple Unit Development Agreement, you must commit to develop at least three restaurants for which the total investment necessary ranges between $774,000 to $1,968,000. This includes $90,000 that must be paid to the franchisor or its affiliates. The initial fee for each additional restaurant you commit to develop is $25,000.
    Veteran Incentives  10% off franchise fee
    #272 in Franchise 500 for 2021.   Not in Franchise 500 for 2020.