The Seattle-style teriyaki concept has seen 25 new shops open so far this year, with another 11 scheduled to open by the end of the year.
Do you hear that? Listen closely. That’s the sound of people all over the country scraping the bottom of their bowls because Teriyaki Madness, the Seattle-style Teriyaki Shop franchise, is opening new shops left and right. In Q3 of 2022 alone, Teriyaki Madness opened 13 new shops, with 11 more scheduled to open by the end of the year. In addition to welcoming new franchise partners, Teriyaki Madness broke into several markets this quarter, including Missouri and Louisiana. Altogether, the brand has welcomed 32 new franchisees to the system for a total of 102 Teriyaki Shops.
“The franchise development momentum we are seeing this year is the fastest we’ve ever seen, which is really a testament to the strength of our business model and concept,” said Teriyaki Madness CEO Michael Haith. “We are really firing on all cylinders in terms of sensational sales and franchise development.”
A major advantage to franchising with Teriyaki Madness is the concept’s uniquely strong scalability. More than forty percent of this year’s new openings are from existing franchisees who have expanded their portfolio to include multiple shops.
Additionally, the Teriyaki Madness concept continues to attract qualified, multi-brand owners who already have impressive QSR portfolios. S.P. Singh, who purchased the rights to open three Teriyaki Madness shops in Indiana, is the current owner of several Wings Etc. locations and owned Mountain Mike’s and Subway locations in the past. Chris McMillan, who purchased rights to open 35 Teriyaki Madness shops in Florida and Arkansas, owns 26 Sonic Drive-In’s and six Rib Crib locations. Ken Schanke and Audrey Ponyton are multi-unit Jersey Mike’s Subs franchisees who purchased rights to open three Teriyaki Madness shops in Connecticut. The list goes on.
With so many new shops opening, the Teriyaki Madness team is making sure to further optimize the business model and position incoming and existing franchise owners for success. In the third quarter, the Teriyaki Madness team launched Free Delivery Tuesdays, which didn’t only increase dispatch (delivery) sales, but also resulted in an overall bump in system-wide sales between July and September. For the newly opened shops, the brand also shifted its grand opening tactic to combine its traditional in-person strategy with its post-COVID virtual best practices. The result has proven to be a major success.
Behind the scenes, Teriyaki Madness has also been evolving its real estate strategy for incoming franchisees and facilitating partnerships with national providers to overcome the challenges of today’s real estate market. For example, the brand recently announced strategic partnerships with Boston-based real estate brokerage Bialow Real Estate and construction program management company Sevan.
With 60 Teriyaki Madness shops slated to open next year, the brand is set to hit the 200-unit mark by the end of 2023. It is currently focused on finding qualified franchise partners interested in multi-unit development.
“Growth is not something we force,” said Haith. “We look at where the demand is and ensure the opportunity is right. Right now, we don’t have to look very hard. The demand for Teriyaki Madness is growing everywhere, and potential multi-unit franchisee partners are finding us who have experience and are looking to grow their portfolios. As we prepare for the end of the year, we are excited to see what the future holds.”
Teriyaki Madness has been ranked on Entrepreneur’s Top Food Franchises, FastCasual’s Movers and Shakers in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, the Inc. 5000 list for six straight years, and was named the Fastest-Growing Big Restaurant Chain in the United States by Restaurant Business in 2021. Founded in 2003, the brand currently has more than 125 shops open, with franchising opportunities nationwide for qualified single and multi-unit candidates. For more information, visit www.franchise.teriyakimadness.com.
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