Restaurant managers look for lots of qualities when hiring servers, but Dennis Maneefuangfoo, senior director for 12-unit Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, is partial to foot speed. Fleet feet, he says, are an absolute necessity in this service-intense concept.
“With new hires, one of the first things I look at is how fast they walk,” says Maneefuangfoo, who also manages one of the chain’s two Manhattan locations. “Our servers have to carry so much more to the table than usual, and they do so much more when they’re there.”
Gyu-Kaku’s interactive dining scheme centers on the Korean practice of yakiniku—“yaki” means grill, and “niku” means meat in Japanese—in which diners cook their own food over charcoal- or gas-fired braziers.
Because customers must order different elements with which to compose their meals, servers are required to carry two to four plates per customer—in addition to multiple bowls and plates bearing raw products, dipping sauces and marinades.
“And that doesn’t include salad, rice, noodles and drinks,” Maneefuangfoo adds. “Operationally speaking, it’s a mad house when it’s busy here.”
Which, by most accounts, is all the time. Since opening its first U.S. unit in Los Angeles in 2001, Gyu-Kaku has been a hit with diners looking for more than an average restaurant experience.
When founded in Japan in 1995, Gyu-Kaku expanded on the yakiniku tradition by adding Japanese twists like sweeter marinades for meats and a wide array of seafood and vegetables. Its U.S. introduction forced officials to further tweak its foods to appeal to American palates.
“People in the U.S. tend to prefer stronger tastes, so we changed some of the flavors,” says Irene Lin, who works as vice president of operations at the company’s U.S. headquarters in Honolulu. “The most popular marinades here are miso and garlic. But we also have white soy, basil, teriyaki, yuzu, and hot and spicy.”
When ordered, food is cut into bite-sized, quarter-inch-thick pieces and marinated. It’s then brought to the table where guests place pieces directly on the brazier and cook them for as little as 30 seconds per side. Other foods come in foil-wrapped packets for gentler cooking.
“Our most popular dish is harami [skirt steak] with miso marinade,” Lin says. “I think Americans like the stronger taste [and texture] of skirt steak. We age a lot of our beef for three weeks, so it’s very tender.”
There are 800 Gyu-Kaku restaurants in Japan, and the U.S. parent company, Reins International U.S.A. Co. Ltd., wants 300 here by 2012. Cities slated for expansion next year include San Francisco and Las Vegas.
To date, all American units are corporate-owned, but the company is considering franchising to accelerate growth. Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president of foodservice strategies at WD Partners in Columbus, Ohio, says the expansion goal is an aggressive but doable one for a company so well-established in Japan.
“Let’s not forget this is not some small entrepreneur starting up a few restaurants,” Lombardi says. “These guys are kind of like the Darden of Japan. They’ve already got the experience of opening up restaurants at a rapid rate. That kind of infrastructure and support is a big component of whether a brand is successful or not when it expands elsewhere.”
Key to the chain’s expansion formula, Lin says, is opening units in large metropolitan communities with Asian residents who understand yakiniku. Longer-term growth, however, comes from 25- to 55-year-old customers who prefer a dinner table adventure. Younger patrons, she says, seek Japanese barbecue for entertainment and for large-group get-togethers, while business groups view it as a special treat for clients.
“Unfortunately, most baby boomers are not all that accustomed to Japanese food, but that’s a pretty small challenge for a concept like this,” says Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic Information Services in Chicago. “With younger people, sushi has become mostly mainstream, and they’re willing to experiment more. This is a natural for them, and it’s where a lot of growth will come from.”
The real test, Tristano adds, will be the same faced by every new restaurant concept: battling for share against the sheer variety of restaurant choices available. Still, he says he believes Gyu-Kaku is so well-differentiated from competitors that its marketplace uniqueness will remain a strong draw.
“With Asian being on the rise, it’s very on-trend,” he says. “U.S. palates have changed, and customers are looking at things they wouldn’t have five years ago. The concept’s protein-oriented, but the way everything is cooked makes it a very healthy-positioned restaurant. You have the ability to add different flavors, to control how it’s cooked and seasoned. You have a lot of options, and consumers love that.”
The cost of real estate aside, Gyu-Kaku spends about $1 million to open each new unit. Restaurants range in size from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet and seat 60 to 170 diners. Though its annual average-unit volume is $1.5 million, its largest and busiest units log annual sales of $3.5 million.
GYU-KAKU JAPANESE BBQ DINING Owner: Reins International U.S.A. Co. Ltd.Headquarters: HonoluluNo. of units: 12Average unit volume: $1.5 millionStates where located: California, Hawaii, New YorkType of concept: Japanese-Korean barbecueAverage check: $30Year founded: 2001 in U.S., 1995 in Japan
Lin says Japanese-style barbecue restaurants differ from Korean-style spots in decor as well. In hopes of setting a refined but relaxed mood, Gyu-Kaku’s interiors include sophisticated touches including imported Japanese woods and wallpapers. All table braziers are designed with downdraft exhaust systems to remove smoke created by cooking from the dining room. Lin says the systems are very expensive, but the smoke-free result is important to guests “who don’t want to smell like the food.” Stiff regulations in some locations require gas be substituted for charcoal.
“Most of our restaurants use special charcoals for cooking, but in New York and in newer locations in shopping malls in California, we use instead ceramic tiles heated by gas,” Lin says.
Maneefuangfoo says the front-of-the-house consumes two-thirds of a Gyu-Kaku unit, while the back takes up the rest. With customers cooking the majority of the food, less space is required for cooking in the kitchen. The typical Gyu-Kaku unit requires four to five cooks, eight servers and two managers on staff.
Lin attributes much of Gyu-Kaku’s appeal to diner interaction over the brazier and the sharing of foods. The Japanese, she adds, believe people who share from the same pot of rice enjoy longer-lasting relationships.
No doubt, Maneefuangfoo says, those who share have more fun.
“It always gets boisterous here, and all it takes is one loud party to get everyone going,” he says. “We get a lot of large parties, particularly in New York: 12-tops and 20-tops. It’s just a fun place for people to get together and enjoy a crowd.”
Lombardi says the recent success of fondue spots and family-style restaurants, such as Maggiano’s Little Italy, prove Americans want to do more than knife thick steaks and sip martinis. They want to interact at dinner in special-occasion destinations with a celebratory feel.
“Gyu-Kaku really has very few close competitors when it comes to that,” Lombardi says. “You’ve got a quality product, a desirable environment, high entertainment value—all the makings for a festive meal occasion. I know I had fun doing it.”
And yet it’s that identity as a destination for special occasions that can somewhat limit the chain’s growth, Lombardi adds.
“It’s certainly not high-frequency, mass-market dining,” he says. “It’s not a place where you’ll go every week.”
While Lin says the average check per person is $30, including drinks, Lombardi says Gyu-Kaku’s selection of premium beverages and high-end food offerings make it easy to run the tab well beyond that.
“When you have a place where people are enjoying themselves, they don’t pay as much attention to what they’re spending,” Lombardi says.
Gyu-Kaku’s “second happy hour” boosts checks, too, he adds.
“A number of their restaurants go back onto happy hour at 9 or 9:30, and that builds traffic and profitability in nonpeak periods,” he says.
Maneefuangfoo says servers occasionally encounter guests who don’t want to cook for themselves. The Japanese response is to humbly cook the guest’s food.
“One thing we’ve learned is if they give it a try, 99.9 percent of the time they actually enjoy it,” he says.