Don’ya Ukraine’s Kitchen

Don’ya Ukraine’s Kitchen, run by Janice Krissa and her daughter Jorgia Moore in Edmonton, brought Ukrainian comfort food to season 20.

The ask was not a normal equity slice. They wanted $500,000 for 50 percent of the royalty income on their first 30 franchises, a structure that ties the payout to future expansion rather than to a share of the company itself, so a simple implied valuation does not apply here.

The business behind the pitch is thriving. In July 2026 the site listed two Edmonton cafe locations, online ordering, catering and cooking-class booking, a seasonal promotion and grocery distribution across Alberta, and the company’s story traces back to a support effort for Ukrainian refugees that grew into full restaurants.

This pitch is worth reading for its structure alone. Rather than a straight equity slice, Krissa and Moore asked for half a million against half the royalty income on their first thirty franchises, which ties the payout to future expansion instead of ownership of the company, so a conventional implied valuation does not apply.

No Dragon took it, which is the usual fate of a royalty tied to franchises that do not exist yet, because the return depends entirely on an expansion the founders would still have to execute. The business is thriving without the money: two Edmonton cafes, online ordering, catering, cooking classes and Alberta-wide grocery distribution, all grown out of a support effort for Ukrainian refugees.