Pokeworks’ first phase as a Hawaiian poke bowl concept began with three locations in major markets competing to see if it could flourish as a fast-casual seafood chain.
Co-founders Peter Yang, Mike Wu along with Michael Chen, and Kasper Hsu were in New York City, Orange County and Northern California, respectively. Each one signed a lease in every location to give the idea a go, Chief Development Officer Yang told the Business Journal.
“If it works in these three major markets, that’s a lot of room to go with,” he said.
Yang’s store in midtown Manhattan, spanning 700 square feet, was the first to open in 2015, serving customizable poke bowls made of raw fish spooned over rice and topped with any assortment of sauces. He said that by the end of the year, there were lines of people waiting two to three hours to order. The surge of customers was also driven by the chain’s invention, the poke burrito.
The store went viral, after an initial month of people still discovering what the dish was, according to Yang. “I think that put Pokeworks, and poke, on the map.” (See story this page.)
The Irvine restaurant, which remains operating today, opened in 2016 and is where Yang said he and his partners saw the poke dish explode.
“We felt like it was this gap in the market,” Yang said. “It was like this ‘aha!’ moment.”
Pokeworks has now reached 72 locations across 20 states, Taiwan and Canada, with top average volume of $1.1 million per store. It is currently ranked No. 24 on the Business Journal’s list of locally-based restaurant chains with 12-month systemwide sales of $59 million for 2023.
With headquarters in Irvine, the Pokeworks founders are finding Orange County as a key testing ground.
“The demographics closely align with our target market and mirror national trends toward healthier, customizable meals,” Yang said. “The strong growth at our corporate location in Irvine has further reinforced our confidence in expanding throughout the region.”
Pokeworks said it is “actively seeking” new franchisees to help capture this expansion. With four OC locations, the chain has agreements in place for three additional local spots, all of which will be franchise-owned.
“The demographic in Orange County commits perfectly to what we’re doing,” Yang said. “We have such a vibrant foodie culture here.”
Franchise Model Drove Early Growth
When the Irvine location first opened, “there was a poke shop in every single center around us,” Yang said. “That’s not the case anymore.”
Yang said that Pokeworks outlived the other poke shops by fixating on restaurant operations.
“We kept our heads down, focused on operational excellence, and really just did everything we could to deliver a great product at a really good price in a way that was an enjoyable customer experience for our guests,” he said.
He added that the chain gradually won over customers with its attention to quality and freshness.
During the first year, however, franchising was not in the founders’ plans. They originally wanted to keep opening corporate stores, according to Yang.
The pace of the market was changing at the time, he said.
“We started learning more and more about the franchising model and realized our business model and our operations and everything that we’re doing lends itself really well to franchising,” Yang said.
They began a franchise program in 2016, and Pokeworks ended up doubling its store count until COVID-19 brought everything to a near halt.
“We’ve really, really worked hard, and having competition is great because it forces you to do better,” he added.
Nowadays, corporate stores are training centers and test kitchens as Pokeworks focuses on growing its franchised locations.
The total investment to franchise starts at $308,000, placing it among mid-range franchises like quick service restaurants and fitness centers. The initial investment to open a new traditional Taco Bell unit, for example, ranges from $1.6 million to nearly $4 million, according to the chain’s 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document.
Founder-Led
Yang, Wu and Chen decided to get more involved two years ago after Pokeworks went through its fair share of “growing pains.”
Between 2022 and 2023, Pokeworks hired Abe van Beek as the new culinary director and promoted the chief financial officer at the time, Regina Cheung, to chief executive. Around the same time, the founders had returned to consulting roles to support the new CEO and the team.
“I think what gave us a lot of success was having a really strong founding team and founders who deeply, deeply care about the brand. Along the way, we lost that,” Yang said.
Both van Beek and Cheung departed several months after their appointments.
“Moving forward, one of the things I personally realized is that no one will care more about the company than the founder,” Yang said.
Chen is now the chain’s current president with Wu as the head of culinary and Yang stepped in as chief development officer.
Active Markets, Plugged In Customers
Targeting 10% unit growth year-over-year, the founders are also looking to add more non-traditional spaces at airports and universities. These restaurants will be a smaller format with a shorter assembly line and kiosks to order, similar to the first Irvine store.
In Orange County specifically, “everyone’s palate is a little bit more sophisticated here,” Yang said, adding that their target customers are “individuals who are well traveled” and like international flavors.
“It hits the health consciousness area as well, being that fully customizable experience (which) caters to individuals who may have their individual preferences, dietary needs,” he added.
With a concentration of Pokeworks in Texas and the northeast, the Midwest market is also growing in activity as the company recently signed with a new franchisee in Minnesota.
“We’re at a point as an emerging brand, to say, ‘hey, every store that opens, we need to make sure it has the best chances of success for our franchise partner.’ And that takes time,” Yang said. Pokeworks opened eight new stores in 2024 and has six new openings planned for early 2025.
When asked about opening in areas unfamiliar with poke, Yang said that he personally found a shortened learning curve “because of everyone being so plugged in now.”
“Even if you’re somewhere that is not (close) to foodie culture, if you’re online or on social media, you’re going to learn about what’s trending. So that has made the entry into some of those markets a lot easier,” he said.
The Hawaiian Honeymoon that Beget Pokeworks
Peter Yang, Kevin Hsu, Kasper Hsu, Michael Chen and Mike Wu didn’t grow up in Hawaii, which they credit with starting the poke bowl fad.
They got the idea when co-founder Chen had a wedding in Hawaii.
“He spent some time on the islands getting ready, and he enjoyed a lot of poke,” recalled Yang.
Yang and his brother also visited Oahu around 2012 to help develop a restaurant called Little Sheep Hot Pot when they also enjoyed a lot of poke bowls.
“Poke was just a dish on some restaurant menus, like as an appetizer,” Yang recalled.
“The way in Hawaii you can get poke is at poke shops, and pretty much any grocery store, by the pound, get it in a little deli cup, get a scoop of rice, and go to the beach, and that’s your meal. And we (thought), ‘how come we don’t have this on the mainland?’”
So, the group of friends decided to “open up a fast casual restaurant where we can serve premium seafood at a very affordable price point,” Yang said.
“The vision was pretty simple – to share poke as it’s enjoyed on the islands with the mainland, which doesn’t sound like much, but back not too long ago, that wasn’t really the thing.”
The founders took a big risk by opening their first locations in major markets, including New York City. In 2015, they launched the fast-casual raw seafood eatery in the Big Apple at the worst possible time – in the winter next to the city’s first Chick-fil-A.
A frenzy of fried chicken fans stood in long lines that blocked Pokeworks’ front door. It didn’t look good until the location introduced a mashup menu item – the poke burrito. The giant sushi roll stuffed with raw fish pieces and rice went viral on social media and put Pokeworks on the map. A mention in the New York Times was also serendipitous, leading to two-hour wait times, according to industry trade publication Restaurant Hospitality.
“Hundreds stood in line to build their own poke burrito or bowl,” the company states on their website.
Today, the chain has seven locations in New York including one inside Grand Central Station.
