Regina Cheung says her 9-year-old daughter, Izzie, has been telling people about the new word that she’s learned—CEO.
“It means the world for her to have that in her vocabulary—that was never in mine at that age,” Cheung said.
Cheung is the newly appointed chief executive of Irvine-based Pokeworks, the growing fast-casual restaurant chain serving its take on the Hawaiian dish poke—cubes of raw seafood over rice.
Pokeworks now counts 71 restaurants in 20 states. The restaurant chain reported sales of $56 million for 2022, an 18% growth from the year before, according to Business Journal data. It’s the 25th-largest restaurant chain based in Orange County.
Cheung took over the CEO position in August from Steve Heeley, who had held the role since 2021. She will continue as chief financial officer until the company finds a replacement.
The Panda Express
Cheung first joined Pokeworks in late 2021 as CFO following 16 years in the restaurant and franchise industry, in a variety of financial roles.
Her experience with Rosemead-based Panda Restaurant Group from 2004 to 2010 taught her the ropes of fast-casual dining as she attended business school part time at University of California, Los Angeles simultaneously.
“I kind of grew up at Panda,” Cheung told the Business Journal.
After six years as an analyst and then project manager, she turned to a new venture and became a franchise owner of a Fetch Pet Care store in Los Angeles for five years.
“I took a bit of a hiatus from corporate to check off something from my bucket list, which was to own my own business,” she said. “So, I know all the heartaches, headaches, sweat and money that one puts into it.”
Later in 2016, Cheung returned to the restaurant industry and helped grow Blaze Pizza from 170 locations to 340 in almost five years. She departed the pizza chain upon meeting the co-founders of Pokeworks and for the chance to be on her first executive team.
The poke bowl restaurant chain, founded in 2015, had around 60 units when Cheung first joined.
“I liked the entrepreneurial environment of Pokeworks, and I got to be a big fish in a small pond,” she said.
Home Growth
Cheung’s appointment occurs during an effort to expand Pokeworks locations.
The company will enter international markets this year, with the first of four restaurants set to open in Toronto in November. The incoming locations are part of a master franchise deal that is committed to open 50 locations in the next eight years in Canada.
The chain also has deals in the works in Taiwan and Mexico.
Closer to home, the company has room to expand in Southern California, Cheung said, adding that she wants more restaurants in Orange County and San Diego.
This month, the firm added a location in Costa Mesa spanning 1,464 square feet. Another restaurant in Fullerton is set to open next year during the first quarter. This will bring its Orange County’s restaurant count to five.
Pokeworks opened its first Los Angeles location in Hollywood this month in a food hall at Emerson College. Cheung said the company wants to “use that as a steppingstone to the rest of the Los Angeles area market.”
Low Investment
As of September, Pokeworks has opened six locations this year, with four more on the way.
The company plans to open another six to eight restaurants next year both in the U.S. and Canada, which could result in 8% to 10% unit growth.
Ideal locations for Pokeworks are shopping centers in larger cities with fellow quick-service concepts, daily-use retailers and other high-profile tenants that generate traffic, according to officials.
The majority of its portfolio are franchised locations with only seven company-owned stores.
Pokeworks requires an initial investment around $300,000 to $400,000 for a franchise.
There’s not much cooking because of the raw fish and ingredients used for most of the dishes on the menu, and only 1,200 to 1,400 square feet of space is generally needed for a store.
“Many franchisees have been able to build for less,” Cheung said.
Pokeworks has also started building systemwide benefits for franchise owners to utilize.
Recent initiatives include installing new boba machines from Botrista in all locations, which started last month, and setting up a formal catering program after seeing natural sales growth from catering orders.
“Supporting that system is what we lean on in order to grow,” Cheung said.
On average, a Pokeworks franchise generates about $1.1 million annually in sales.
The First
Cheung is the first woman to lead the business, which was founded by Mike Chen, Mike Wu and Peter Yang. The co-founders have also returned in various consultative roles, from culinary to store development to marketing, to support the new executive and her team.
The company’s founders urged her to become the CEO, she said.
“I knew I wanted a seat at the table, but the founders were the first ones that made me think, ‘I could do this,’” Cheung said.
“I’m hoping that one day a female CEO, or an Asian female CEO, wouldn’t be the headlines, but today, it’s awesome.”
