NEWT

Pokemoto, Muscle Maker, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: GRIL) expanding Hawaiian poke bowl restaurant concept, today announced its partnership with Newtek Business Services Corp. (Nasdaq: NEWT), a qualified lending source to assist current and prospective franchisees with securing funding to open Pokemoto eateries across the United States. Pokemoto recently launched a customized Newtek portal on the Pokemoto website offering an array of services in addition to funding solutions. The Pokemoto branded Newtek site can be found here: Pokémoto | Newtek Alliance Suite Builder (newtekone.com).

Newtek has assisted more than 100,000 businesses in the areas of funding, revenue generation, cost reduction, and minimizing risk. They provide dedicated lending specialists to assist from the initial consultation through the lending process with a guaranteed 48-hour pre-qualification turnaround. Newtek’s menu of solutions for Pokemoto franchisees include:

Business Lending – Commercial term loans for small to medium-sized businesses

Revolving Lines of Credit – Revolving lines to meet working capital needs

Managed Technology – A scalable cloud platform with 24/7/365 support and 99.999% uptime

Insurance – Nationwide commercial and personal lines of insurance

Payroll and Benefits – Comprehensive payroll, record keeping and tax filing

“Ensuring that Pokemoto has lending solutions for prospective and current franchisees is extremely important in our model’s core. Franchisees should be properly funded so that they can focus on opening and expanding their Pokemoto portfolios and Newtek provides a wide range of potential business solutions and services to help meet their needs said Michael Roper, Chief Executive Officer of Pokemoto. He continued, “Investing in any business is a big leap and we believe that partnering with Newtek will help our franchisees feel supported not only financially but in other areas of their businesses as well. We’re confident in our partnership and believe we’re providing a well-rounded package of resources which can be found on the Newtek portal on the franchising page of the Pokemoto website. Newtek has dedicated specialists ready to assist while providing round the clock support. We’ve ramped up our franchise marketing efforts and expanded our team in preparation to present more opportunities to prospective franchisees across the country. We believe this new lending partner will be beneficial to those looking for financing options to begin and expand their Pokemoto portfolios.”

The Pokemoto franchise model requires up to $25,000 per unit for the initial franchise fee, when the agreement is signed while also providing up to 6% of net sales as an ongoing monthly royalty rate once each location is opened. The Company does allow, in certain instances, for discounted fees for multi-unit or special agreements.

About PokemotoPokemoto, a Hawaiian Poke bowl concept known for its modern culinary twist on a traditional Hawaiian classic has open or coming soon locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi and Kansas. Pokemoto offers contemporary flavors with fresh delectable ingredients that appeals to foodies, health enthusiasts, and sushi-lovers everywhere. Guests can choose from a list of signature bowls or be bold and build their own unique combination of a base, protein, various toppings and nine different sauces. Vegetarian options are available, and the bowl combinations are virtually limitless. The colorful dishes and modern chic dining rooms provide an uplifting dining experience for guests of all ages. Customers can dine in-store or order online via third party delivery apps for contactless delivery.

About Newtek

Newtek Business Services Corp., Your Business Solutions Company®, is an internally managed BDC, which along with its controlled portfolio companies, provides a wide range of business and financial solutions under the Newtek® brand to the small- and medium-sized business (“SMB”) market. Since 1999, Newtek has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to SMB relationships across all 50 states to help them grow their sales, control their expenses and reduce their risk.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may include “forward-looking statements” pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. To the extent that the information presented in this press release discusses financial projections, information, or expectations about our business plans, results of operations, products or markets, or otherwise makes statements about future events, such statements are forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “should”, “may,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “expects,” “plans,” and “proposes.” Although we believe that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in documents that we file from time to time with the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are contained, and Muscle Maker, Inc., does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.

Contact:Muscle Maker Grill Marketingmarketing@musclemakergrill.com

Investor Relations:IR@musclemakergrill.com