Yoshinoya opens four new units in Calif.Yoshinoya opens four new units in Calif.

Lisa Jennings

TORRANCE Calif. Four new Yoshinoya restaurants have opened this month in California, including a franchise location in Sylmar scheduled to open Wednesday.

The announcement on Wednesday brings the domestic store count for the Japanese quick-service chain to 95, and officials say Yoshinoya will reach its 100-store milestone before the end of 2009.

“This is a significant step toward achieving our development and operations goals,” said Scot Hobert, Yoshinoya’s vice president of franchise sales. “Yoshinoya will continue our expansion plans, focused primarily on rapid West Coast market development, as well as growth in nearby states.”

The locations that opened this month include two company-operated locations: a 40-seat unit in Los Angeles that opened June 11; and a 44-seat unit in Lakewood, Calif.

First-time franchisee Damrong Sangngern opened a 50-seat unit in Sun Valley, Calif., also on June 12. Sangngern was a Yoshinoya employee who stepped up as a franchisee through a company program to help long-time employees attain ownership.

Officials are not releasing the name of the operator of the Sylmar location.

Known for its Japanese Beef Bowl, the Yoshinoya concept began in Japan in 1899 and now includes 1,400 restaurants throughout Asia, Australia and the United States. Franchisor Yoshinoya America Inc. is based in Torrance, Calif. For the year ended in December 2008, Yoshinoya, then 89 units, generated U.S. systemwide sales of $84 million.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].