Toridoll To Buy U.S. Chain Serving Japanese Food

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Toridoll. Corp. (3397) will acquire a U.S. company next month as part of a plan to expand overseas operations by adding a new business format based on Japanese cuisine.

The restaurant operator will buy all shares of Dream Dining Corp., marking Toridoll's first purchase of a foreign firm. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Dream Dining's operations include 11 Tokyo Bento locations in Hong Kong. Toridoll will expand the chain worldwide, especially in North America, with the aim of having 1,000 restaurants globally by the end of 2022. Everyday items such as rice bowls with various toppings will be incorporated into Tokyo Bento menus and a dine-in option will be added as well.

Toridoll will position Tokyo Bento as a major overseas brand, alongside its Marugame Seimen self-serve noodle shops.

Over the same time frame, Toridoll hopes to open 100 Tokyo Table restaurants worldwide. Tokyo Table is a high-end pub that Dream Dining operates in the U.S.

Established in the U.S. by Tetsuya Emura, one of the founding members of Watami Co. (7522), Dream Dining had around 500 million yen in sales in fiscal 2012.

(The Nikkei, Feb. 21 morning edition)

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