For one Hissho Full Service Sushi Bar at a U.S. Retail Host, the strongest defensible answer is an independent scenario range—not an official earnings claim. A hands-on owner who personally replaces the on-site manager could receive an estimated $53,000–$90,000 owner-operator benefit, but about $46,180 of that amount represents the market value of work performed rather than passive business profit.
This estimate is an independent analytical scenario. It is not an Item 19 financial performance representation by Hissho International, LLC. It combines identified facts from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document with separately identified U.S. government benchmarks and editorial scenario assumptions. Actual results can differ materially because of location, unit format, Gross Sales, Retail Host terms, food costs, labor, occupancy arrangements, financing, owner involvement, and execution.
Data basis
FDD references: 2026 Hissho International, LLC Multi-State Franchise Disclosure Document, cover; Item 1, pp. 1–5; Item 6, pp. 13–22; Item 15, pp. 51–52; Item 19, p. 57; Item 20, pp. 58–72. No matching public FDD controlled by the franchisor was verified, so the FDD citations are intentionally unlinked.
Evidence confidence is limited because Item 19 provides no Hissho sales, profit, EBITDA, Net Income, Owner Compensation, or Cash Flow figures. The earnings range therefore depends materially on broad government data and explicit revenue and margin sensitivities.
The 2026 FDD makes no representation about past or future outlet performance.
IRS 2022 net income less deficit divided by total receipts for Food Services and Drinking Places corporations.
Typical Service Commission; the disclosed range is 0%–40% of Gross Sales.
Current-rate total for five disclosed recurring items, excluding insurance, permits, food, labor, and variable charges.
May 2025 BLS mean annual wage for first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers.
Systemwide count at December 31, 2025; it is not an Item 19 performance sample.
What does Hissho’s FDD actually disclose about owner earnings?
Official answer: it discloses no owner-earnings figure. Item 19 of the 2026 FDD states that Hissho International, LLC does not make representations about a franchisee’s future financial performance or the past performance of company-operated or franchised outlets. That means there is no official Average Unit Volume, median Gross Sales, operating profit, EBITDA, Net Income, Owner Compensation, or percentage-achieving result to quote.
The absence of an Item 19 financial performance representation is not proof of weak or strong economics. It means a buyer cannot treat a sales estimate, “salary” claim, or profit number from a salesperson, directory, broker, forum, or ranking page as franchisor-reported evidence. The Federal Trade Commission’s franchise buyer guide explains that Gross Sales do not establish profit and that any franchisor earnings claim generally belongs in Item 19 with its basis and limitations.
Hissho’s operating structure makes this distinction especially important. Customers pay through the Retail Host’s point-of-sale system. The Retail Host keeps its Service Commission, Hissho and affiliated suppliers deduct amounts owed, and the franchisee receives the remaining Franchise Commissions. Gross Sales, Net Sales, Franchise Commissions, and owner earnings are therefore four different measures.
Which Hissho format does the estimate cover?
The model covers one Full Service Sushi Bar only. The FDD also offers Satellite Sushi Bars and Asian Food Bars, but it does not publish performance by format. A Satellite Sushi Bar cannot be obtained without a Full Service Sushi Bar and receives product prepared at the full-service location. An Asian Food Bar has a different menu and staffing pattern. Combining those formats would create an unsupported blended result.
The FDD describes a standard Full Service Sushi Bar as roughly 50 to 300 square feet inside a grocery store, supermarket, hospital, university, specialty store, or other Retail Host. Hissho’s official retail-partner overview similarly distinguishes chef-led deli counters from delivered grab-and-go kiosks, while the official location overview notes that most locations feature a local chef and some receive daily deliveries.
How was the $7,000–$44,000 annual earnings range calculated?
The range is a three-scenario estimate based on Gross Sales multiplied by an all-in profit-margin sensitivity. Because the FDD supplies no revenue distribution, the revenue figures are editorial test points. Because it supplies no compatible operating-expense statement, the margin starts with a broad IRS corporate benchmark rather than a Hissho result.
The 2022 U.S. Economic Census reports 271,243 employer establishments and $358.864 billion of revenue for NAICS 722513 Limited-Service Restaurants, an average of about $1.323 million per establishment. That broad average includes conventional restaurants and is not directly comparable with a 50–300-square-foot Hissho counter. The $250,000, $350,000, and $500,000 test points equal about 19%, 26%, and 38% of that average. They are deliberately labeled assumptions, not forecasts or FDD-reported quartiles.
The 2022 IRS Statistics of Income Corporation Complete Report shows $617.565 billion of total receipts, $48.056 billion of net income, and $12.775 billion of deficit for Food Services and Drinking Places corporations. Net income less deficit divided by total receipts equals 5.713%. The conservative and upside margins are that benchmark minus and plus three percentage points. The IRS population is broader than Hissho and includes different formats, capital structures, accounting policies, and owner-pay practices.
| Scenario | Gross Sales assumption | Profit margin | Manager-run pre-tax earnings | Owner-operator benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | $250,000 | 2.7% | $6,800 | $53,000 |
| Base | $350,000 | 5.7% | $20,000 | $66,200 |
| Upside | $500,000 | 8.7% | $43,600 | $89,700 |
Calculation: full-precision IRS margin of 5.712883%, adjusted by minus or plus 3.0 percentage points, multiplied by each Gross Sales assumption; results rounded to the nearest $100. Owner-operator benefit adds $46,180 of labor value. Figures are before personal income taxes and buyer-specific debt principal. No separate acquisition or startup debt interest is modeled.
One modeled Full Service Sushi Bar; $ thousands per year
Interpretation: owner involvement changes the economic benefit more than the modeled residual profit in the conservative and base cases. Source: independent scenario calculation using the 2022 IRS benchmark and May 2025 BLS wage data; not an Item 19 result.
Is Hissho a passive or manager-run franchise?
The 2026 FDD does not support a passive-ownership interpretation. Item 15 requires the franchisee to designate an Operating Principal who devotes full time and best efforts to supervising and conducting the Food Retail Units. Each Food Retail Unit must also remain under direct on-premises supervision of a manager. The same Operating Principal may supervise multiple units, but that does not remove the on-site management requirement at each location.
The manager-run scenario treats the modeled business profit as residual pre-tax owner earnings after normal operating costs. The owner-operator scenario assumes the owner personally performs the first-line food-service supervisor role and adds the May 2025 BLS mean annual wage of $46,180. This added amount is compensation for labor. It is not an extra margin generated by the business and should not be described as passive income.
Do not add $46,180 when the owner still employs a separate full-time manager, divides time across several units, or performs only administrative oversight. The correct labor adjustment depends on actual hours, duties, local wages, and whether the owner genuinely replaces a paid position.
Which FDD deductions can materially change Hissho owner earnings?
The Retail Host Service Commission is the most consequential disclosed percentage. Item 6 says the typical Service Commission is 27% of Gross Sales, with a disclosed range of 0%–40%. The amount remaining after that deduction is Net Sales. Hissho then calculates Franchise Commissions and deducts fees, affiliated supplier purchases, financing or advances, and other obligations before remitting the remainder.
Derived Net Sales at the base $350,000 Gross Sales assumption
Interpretation: at identical Gross Sales, moving from the typical 27% Service Commission to the disclosed 40% high end reduces Net Sales by $45,500. Source: 2026 FDD, Item 6, pp. 13 and 17; derived calculation. Net Sales are not owner earnings.
What fixed recurring charges are visible in Item 6?
Five current-rate items total about $5,500 per year before insurance, permits, food, labor, and variable charges. The FDD defines a “monthly statement” as an every-four-week statement, producing 13 statements each year.
| Selected recurring item | FDD rate | Annualized amount | Treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administration/Web Fee | $100 × 13 | $1,300 | Current rate; may increase to $250 per statement. |
| Technology Fee | $150 × 13 | $1,950 | Current rate; may increase to $300 per statement. |
| Point-of-Sale marketing materials | Estimated | $2,000 | FDD estimate; stated maximum is $4,000 per unit annually. |
| SSOP/HACCP Food Safety Plan | Annual | $150 | Per Food Retail Unit type, excluding delivery locations. |
| Digital Logbook Fee | $50 × 2 | $100 | Current rate; may increase to $100 every six months. |
| Selected total | — | $5,500 | Derived; not a complete annual expense budget. |
Other material obligations include a Brand Fund contribution of up to 2% of Net Sales, insurance estimated at $500–$5,000 per year for one Food Retail Unit, license and permit renewal costs, ongoing food and supply purchases, and location-specific deductions. At $350,000 of Gross Sales and the typical 27% Service Commission, Net Sales equal $255,500; a 2% Brand Fund contribution would be $5,110. After that contribution and the selected $5,500 fixed-charge total, $244,890 remains before food, labor, produce, other supplier costs, variable fees, and owner earnings.
The scenario earnings model uses an all-in IRS margin and therefore does not subtract these Hissho charges a second time. The cash-flow illustration is diagnostic: it shows why location-specific Retail Host terms and the actual Franchise Commission schedule are indispensable to underwriting.
What is included—and excluded—in the earnings estimates?
The manager-run figure is estimated pre-tax residual business profit; the owner-operator figure adds labor value. Neither figure is after-tax take-home pay.
- Gross Sales
- Customer revenue before the Retail Host Service Commission. It is not owner earnings.
- Net Sales
- Gross Sales after the Retail Host keeps its Service Commission. It is still not owner earnings.
- Franchise Commissions
- The location-specific amount payable to the franchisee under Attachment A, subject to deductions and reconciliation.
- Manager-run pre-tax earnings
- Scenario Gross Sales multiplied by the broad all-in profit margin, before personal income taxes and buyer-specific debt principal.
- Owner-operator benefit
- Manager-run residual plus $46,180 of replacement-manager labor value. It combines business profit with compensation for work.
- Debt service
- No buyer-specific loan principal or acquisition financing is deducted. The IRS benchmark may reflect interest and depreciation reported by its mixed corporate population.
- Personal taxes
- Excluded. Federal, state, and local tax outcomes depend on entity structure, jurisdiction, deductions, and owner circumstances.
- Capital expenditures
- Not modeled separately. Equipment replacement, remodels, and other capital needs can reduce cash distributions.
What could push actual Hissho earnings outside this range?
The largest unresolved variable is the location-specific economics between Gross Sales and Franchise Commissions. Attachment A leaves the Franchise Commission percentage blank for the individual deal, while Item 6 says the Retail Host Service Commission and Hissho-retained amounts may vary widely. A buyer cannot validate earnings from system outlet counts or a generic restaurant margin alone.
- Retail Host traffic and terms: supermarket volume, campus schedules, hospital demand, airport traffic, operating hours, price constraints, and the Service Commission can materially change the result.
- Format and staffing: a part-time Full Service Sushi Bar, full-time chef-led counter, Asian Food Bar, and a Full Service/Satellite network require different labor and production structures.
- Food and affiliated supplier costs: the FDD does not provide a systemwide food-cost percentage or a comparable unit-level income statement.
- Owner labor: the $46,180 adjustment is valid only when the owner replaces a paid supervisory role with comparable duties and hours.
- Unit maturity and turnover: Item 20 reports 435 franchise openings, 123 terminations, 80 reacquisitions, and 323 transfers during 2025. Those counts describe system movement, not profitability, but they make location-level diligence important.
- Financing and reinvestment: loan principal, buyer-specific interest, taxes, remodels, equipment replacement, and working-capital needs can reduce cash actually distributed to the owner.
The 2,614 franchisee-owned units shown at year-end 2025 are not an earnings cohort. Item 19 does not state how many units would qualify as mature, comparable, full-time, owner-operated, manager-run, or reporting outlets. No average or median can be inferred from Item 20.
What should a buyer verify before relying on an earnings estimate?
Verify the actual location economics in writing and test them against current and former franchisee records. The model is useful for framing questions, not replacing outlet-level diligence.
- Confirm the exact Franchise Commission formula in Attachment A for the proposed brand, unit format, and Retail Host.
- Obtain the Retail Host Service Commission, escalation schedule, payment timing, occupancy-related deductions, minimum sales requirements, and price-control terms.
- Ask for written substantiation of any oral or written sales, income, or profit statement; compare it with Item 19 and the FTC rules on financial performance representations.
- For an existing location, request actual Gross Sales, Net Sales, Franchise Commission statements, food invoices, payroll, insurance, permits, chargebacks, and repair records.
- Interview current and former franchisees from the same Retail Host channel and similar format; separate owner-operated units from manager-run units.
- Rebuild the estimate with local supervisory wages, actual staffing hours, food costs, spoilage, sampling obligations, delivery costs, and the owner’s intended weekly workload.
- Review Item 20 contacts and turnover with attention to the specific location, prior owner history, closures, transfers, and same-year reacquisitions and refranchising.
What is the strongest defensible Hissho owner-earnings range?
Use approximately $7,000–$44,000 per year as a manager-run, pre-tax scenario range for one modeled Full Service Sushi Bar, and approximately $53,000–$90,000 as an owner-operator benefit range when the owner genuinely replaces a paid supervisor. These are independent estimates, not official Hissho results. The most important earnings driver is the location-specific conversion from Gross Sales to Franchise Commissions—especially the Retail Host Service Commission and food, supplier, and labor deductions. The largest unresolved uncertainty is the absence of same-brand Item 19 sales and profit data. Before making a decision, verify the proposed Attachment A economics, request substantiation for every performance statement, and compare actual records with interviews of current and former franchisees operating comparable Retail Host locations.