UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from __________ to __________

Commission file number: 001-41494

YOSHIHARU GLOBAL CO.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware

5812

87-3941448

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

6940 Beach Blvd., Suite D-705

Buena Park, CA 90621

(714) 694-2403

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including

area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class:		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered:
Class A Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share		YOSH		The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq Capital Market)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” accelerated filer, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☐
Non-accelerated filer	☒	Smaller reporting company	☒
Emerging growth company	☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that require a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☒ No ☐

The aggregate market value of Class A Common Stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price for Class A Common Stock on June 30, 2022, as reported on the Nasdaq Stock Market was N/A.

As of March 29, 2023, there were 11,940,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share of the registrant issued and outstanding.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

		PAGE
Item 1.	Business	1
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	11
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	28
Item 2.	Properties	28
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	28
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	28

PART II
Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Ordinary Shares, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	28
Item 6.	[Reserved]	29
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	29
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	39
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	39
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	39
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedure	39
Item 9B.	Other Information	40

PART III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	40
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	45
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters	52
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	52
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	53

PART IV
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	54
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	54

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management, and which statements involve substantial risk and uncertainties. All statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future operating results and financial position, our business strategy and plans, market growth and trends, and objectives for future operations are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions.

These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the risk that we may not be able to successfully implement our growth strategy if we are unable to identify appropriate sites for restaurant locations, expand in existing and new markets, obtain favorable lease terms, attract guests to our restaurants or hire and retain personnel; the risk that we may not be able to maintain or improve our comparable restaurant sales growth; that the restaurant industry is a highly competitive industry with many competitors; that our limited number of restaurants, the significant expense associated with opening new restaurants, and the unit volumes of our new restaurants makes us susceptible to significant fluctuations in our results of operations; that we have incurred operating losses and may not be profitable in the future; the risk that our plans to maintain and increase liquidity may not be successful; that we depend on our senior management team and other key employees, and the loss of one or more key personnel or an inability to attract, hire, integrate and retain highly skilled personnel could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations; that our operating results and growth strategies will be closely tied to the success of our future franchise partners and we will have limited control with respect to their operations; the risk that we may face negative publicity or damage to our reputation, which could arise from concerns regarding food safety and foodborne illness or other matters; that minimum wage increases and mandated employee benefits could cause a significant increase in our labor costs; that events or circumstances could cause the termination or limitation of our rights to certain intellectual property critical to our business that is licensed from Yoshiharu Holdings Co., or that we could face infringements on our intellectual property rights and be unable to protect our brand name, trademarks and other intellectual property rights; that challenging economic conditions may affect our business by adversely impacting numerous items that include, but are not limited to: consumer confidence and discretionary spending, the future cost and availability of credit and the operations of our third-party vendors and other service providers; the risk that we, or our point of sale and restaurant management platform partners, may fail to secure guests’ confidential, personally identifiable, debit card or credit card information or other private data relating to our employees or us; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, or a similar public health threat, on global capital and financial markets, general economic conditions in the United States, and our business and operations.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to conform such statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law.

PART I

Item 1. Business.

Overview of Yoshiharu

Yoshiharu is a fast-growing Japanese restaurant operator and was borne out the idea of introducing the modernized Japanese dining experience to customers all over the world. Specializing in Japanese ramen, Yoshiharu gained recognition as a leading ramen restaurant in Southern California within six months of our 2016 debut and has continued to expand our top-notch restaurant service across Southern California, currently operating 8 restaurants with an additional 5 new restaurant stores under construction/development and an additional 6 restaurant stores expected to open in 2023. We take pride in our warm, hearty, smooth, and rich bone broth, which is slowly boiled for over 12 hours. Customers can taste and experience supreme quality and deep flavors. Combining the broth with the fresh, savory, and highest-quality ingredients, Yoshiharu serves the perfect, ideal ramen, as well as offers customers a wide variety of sushi rolls, bento menu and other favorite Japanese cuisine. Our acclaimed signature Tonkotsu Black Ramen has become a customer favorite with its slow cooked pork bone broth and freshly made, tender chashu (braised pork belly).

Our mission is to bring our Japanese ramen and cuisine to the mainstream, by providing a meal that customers find comforting. Since the inception of the business, we have been making our own ramen broth and other key ingredients such as pork chashu and flavored eggs from scratch, whereby upholding the quality and taste of our foods, including the signature texture and deep, rich flavor of our handcrafted broth. Moreover, we believe that slowly cooking the bone broth makes it high in collagen and rich in nutrients. Yoshiharu also strives to present food that is not only healthy, but also affordable. We feed, entertain and delight our customers, with our active kitchens and bustling dining rooms providing happy hours, student and senior discounts, and special holiday events. As a result of our vision, customers can comfortably enjoy our food in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

In September 2022, the Company consummated its initial public offering (the “IPO”) of 2,940,000 shares of its class A common stock at a public offering price of $4.00 per share, generating gross proceeds of $11,760,000. Net proceeds from the IPO were approximately $10.3 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses of approximately $1.5 million.

The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to 441,000 additional shares (equal to 15% of the shares of class A common stock sold in the IPO) to cover over-allotments, if any, which the underwriters did not exercise. In addition, the Company issued to the representative of the underwriters warrants to purchase a number of shares of class A common stock equal to 5.0% of the aggregate number of shares of Class A common stock sold in the IPO (including shares of Class A common stock sold upon exercise of the over-allotment option). The representative’s warrants will be exercisable at any time and from time to time, in whole or in part, during the four-and-½-year period commencing six months from the date of commencement of the sales of the shares of Class A common stock in connection with the IPO, at an initial exercise price per share of $5.00 (equal to 125% of the initial public offering price per share of class A common stock). No representative’s warrants have been exercised.

On September 9, 2022, the Company’s stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “YOSH.”

Supply Chain Disruption and Inflation

Our profitability depends in part on our ability to anticipate and react to changes in food and supply costs, especially in light of recent supply chain disruptions. We believe we have experienced higher costs due to increased commodity prices and challenges sourcing our supplies due in part to global supply chain disruptions. Although historically and as of December 31, 2022, global supply chain disruptions have not materially adversely affected our business, a substantial increase in the cost of, or inability to procure, the food products most critical to our menu, such as canola oil, rice, meats, fish and other seafood, as well as fresh vegetables, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition or results from operations. Because we provide moderately priced food, we may choose not to, or may be unable to, pass along commodity price increases to consumers. These potential changes in supply costs could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Historically and as of the date hereof, inflation has not had a material effect on our results of operations. Severe increases in inflation, however, could affect the global and U.S. economies and could have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, future volatile, negative, or uncertain economic conditions and recessionary periods or periods of significant inflation may adversely impact consumer spending at our restaurants, which would materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Such effects can be especially pronounced during periods of economic contraction or slow economic growth. To the extent that we are unable to offset such cost inflation through increased menu prices or increased efficiencies in our operations and cost savings, there could be a negative impact on our business, sales and margin performance, net income, cash flows and the trading price of our common shares. We have been able to offset to some extent these inflationary and other cost pressures through actions such as increasing menu prices and supply chain initiatives, however, we expect these inflationary and other cost pressures to continue into year 2023.

Our Strengths

Experienced Management Team Dedicated to Growth.

Our team is led by experienced and passionate senior management who are committed to our mission. We are led by our Chief Executive Officer, James Chae. Mr. Chae founded Yoshiharu in 2016 and has helped grow the business since that time. Mr. Chae leads a team of talented professionals with deep financial, operational, culinary, and real estate experience.

Compelling Value Proposition with Broad Appeal.

Guests can enjoy our signature ramen dishes or select from our variety of fresh sushi rolls, bento, and other Japanese cuisine. The high-quality dishes at affordable prices are the result of our efficient operations. In addition, we believe our commitment to high-quality and fresh ingredients in our food is at the forefront of current dining trends as customers continue to seek healthy food options.

Attractive Restaurant-Level Economics.

At Yoshiharu, we believe our rapid customer turnover, combined with our ability to deliver in 2 major dayparts with lunch and dinner, allows for robust and efficient sales in each of our restaurants. Our average unit volume (“AUV”, as defined herein) was $1.2 million in 2021 and $1.2 million in 2022.

Quality of Food and Excellence in Customer Service.

We place a premium on serving high-quality, authentic Japanese cuisine. We believe in customer convenience and satisfaction and have created strong, loyal and repeat customers who help expand the Yoshiharu network to their friends, family and co-workers.

Flexibility to Pivot to Online and Delivery.

During the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were able to efficiently transition from primarily in-store sales to a diversified mix of channels including takeout and delivery. As our customers’ habits adapt post-pandemic, we intend to invest further in our delivery and takeout programs, which currently rely on third-party providers. .

Our Growth Strategies

Pursue New Restaurant Development.

We have pursued a disciplined new corporate owned growth strategy. Having expanded our concept and operating model across varying restaurant sizes and geographies, we plan to leverage our expertise opening new restaurants to fill in existing markets and expand into new geographies. While we currently aim to achieve in excess of 100% annual unit growth rate over the next three to five years, we cannot predict the time period of which we can achieve any level of restaurant growth or whether we will achieve this level of growth at all. Our ability to achieve new restaurant growth is impacted by a number of risks and uncertainties beyond our control, including those described under the caption “Risk Factors.” In particular, see “Risk Factors—Our long-term success is highly dependent on our ability to successfully identify and secure appropriate sites and timely develop and expand our operations in existing and new markets” for specific risks that could impede our ability to achieve new restaurant growth in the future. We believe there is a significant opportunity to employ this strategy to open additional restaurants in our existing markets and in new markets with similar demographics and retail environments.

Deliver Consistent Comparable Restaurant Sales Growth.

We have achieved positive comparable restaurant sales growth in recent periods. We believe we will be able to generate future comparable restaurant sales growth by growing traffic through increased brand awareness, consistent delivery of a satisfying dining experience, new menu offerings, and restaurant renovations. We will continue to manage our menu and pricing as part of our overall strategy to drive traffic and increase average check. We are also exploring initiatives to grow sales of alcoholic beverages at our restaurants, including the potential of a larger format restaurant with a sake bar concept. In addition to the strategies stated above, we expect to initiate sales of franchises in 2023 .

Increase Profitability.

We have invested in our infrastructure and personnel, which we believe positions us to continue to scale our business operations. As we continue to grow, we expect to drive higher profitability both at a restaurant-level and corporate-level by taking advantage of our increasing buying power with suppliers and leveraging our existing support infrastructure. Additionally, we believe we will be able to optimize labor costs at existing restaurants as our restaurant base matures and AUVs increase. We believe that as our restaurant base grows, our general and administrative costs will increase at a slower rate than our sales.

Heighten Brand Awareness.

We intend to continue to pursue targeted local marketing efforts and plan to increase our investment in advertising. We also are exploring the development of instant ramen noodles which we would distribute through retail channels. We intend to explore partnerships with grocery retailers to provide for small-format Yoshiharu kiosks in stores to promote a limited selection of Yoshiharu cuisine.

Experienced Management Team Dedicated to Growth.

Our team is led by experienced and passionate senior management who are committed to our mission. We are led by our Chief Executive Officer, James Chae. Mr. Chae founded Yoshiharu in 2016 and leads a team of talented professionals with deep financial, operational, culinary, and real estate experience.

Properties

As of June 30, 2022, we operated 7 restaurants in California and opened 1 new location in July 2022 in California. We operate a variety of restaurant formats, including in-line and end-cap restaurants located in retail centers of varying sizes. Our restaurants currently average approximately 1,578 square feet. We lease the property for our corporate offices and all of the properties on which we operate our restaurants.

The table below shows the locations of our restaurants as of the date of this Report:

Store Location	Address	Year Launched
Orange	1891 N Tustin St, Orange, CA 92865	2016
Buena Park	6970 Beach Blvd, #F206 Buena Park, CA 90621	2017
Whittier	8426 Laurel Ave, STE A Whittier, CA 90605	2017
Chino	4004 Grand Ave STE C Chino, CA 91710	2019
Eastvale	4910 Hamner Ave STE 150, Eastvale, CA 91752	2020
Irvine	3935 Portola Pkwy, Irvine, CA 92602	2021
La Mirada	12806 La Mirada Blvd, La Mirada, CA 90638	2022
Cerritos	11533 South St, Cerritos, CA 90703	3Q 2022*¹
Corona	440 N Mckinley St STE 101, Corona, CA 92879	3Q 2022*²
Garden Grove	9812 Chapman Avenue Garden Grove, CA 92841	4Q 2022*²
Menifee	27311 Newport Road, Suite 320, Menifee, CA 92584	4Q 2022*²
Laguna	32341 Golden Lantern, STE B, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677	4Q 2022*²
San Clemente	638 Camino de Los Mares STE 16, San Clemente, CA 92673	4Q 2022*²

*¹Opened in July 2022.

*²Under construction.

We are obligated under non-cancelable leases for the majority of our restaurants, as well as our corporate offices. The majority of our restaurant leases have lease terms of 10 years, inclusive of customary extensions which are at the option of the Company. Our restaurant leases generally require us to pay a proportionate share of real estate taxes, insurance, common area maintenance charges, and other operating costs. Some restaurant leases provide for contingent rental payments based on sales thresholds, although we generally do not expect to pay significant rent on these properties based on the thresholds in those leases. We do not own any real property.

We opened one restaurant in each year from 2019 through 2021, and we have opened two restaurants so far in 2022. We currently have 5 new locations under construction/development, and we expect to begin operations of the 5 new locations in 2023. Also, we are expecting to open an additional 6 new restaurants in 2023 by utilizing the net proceeds from the IPO.

With respect to the 5 new locations under construction/development, the Company has entered into construction agreements with various developers for certain tenant improvements to the store locations in Corona, Garden Grove, Menifee, Laguna Niguel and San Clemente.

We have finalized site selection for 6 of the upcoming 2023 restaurants for the following sites in Southern California: Cypress, Santa Ana, Ontario, Dana Point and Tustin; and one location in Washington: Seattle. We have executed commercial lease terms for Cypress, and we are in the process of negotiating a lease agreement for Santa Ana, Ontario, Tustin, Dana Point and Seattle. Site selection is ongoing for the other upcoming locations.

The Company anticipates approximately $350,000 in costs per a new location in development, and has spent approximately $490,000 for the 5 locations under construction/development as of December 31, 2022.

Assuming the Company is successful in opening the 11 locations in 2023 as set forth above, based on the anticipated development costs of the 1 location, the total anticipated costs of opening the11 locations in 2023 is approximately $3.4 million.

SEC Form 10-K filed by Yoshiharu Global Co.