Thursday, September 10, 2009

Yoshinoya beef bowl restaurants to make fresh start in Indonesia

Original source: Japan Today

Yoshinoya ‘‘gyudon’’ beef-on-rice bowl restaurants will make a fresh start in Jakarta in January after withdrawing from the market in 1998 amid the Asian financial crisis, Yoshinoya Holdings Co said Wednesday. Subsidiary Yoshinoya International Co will open a restaurant in Jakarta in January with the aim of setting up 10 outlets in Indonesia within five years, the holding company said.

The restaurant chain operator, known for its beef and rice dishes, is reentering the Southeast Asian country’s market after pulling out in 1998 amid the Asian financial crisis. Yoshinoya first entered the Indonesian market in 1994. The restaurants will be operated by local firm PT. Multirasa Nusantara, a joint venture for the purpose formed by Wings, an Indonesian maker and wholesaler of consumer goods, and major Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, Yoshinoya said. Yoshinoya International had a total of 395 restaurants in China, other East Asian nations, Australia and North America as of Aug 31.