By Aya Ota
Yakiniku Futago” of Osaka is a restaurant chain which has so far developed about 50 restaurants in the Tokyo metropolitan area and overseas. It was founded in 2010 in Tsuruhashi, Osaka which is a battleground for yakiniku businesses, by third-generation Korean twin brothers, Suncho and Sunbong Lee who were born in Tsuruhashi, and grew up in Japan. The “Hamideru Kalbi”, their popular menu item which helped this restaurant chain grow into its popularity very fast, is a piece of Japanese black wagyu beef that is larger than its iron cooking plate. The meat is delivered to the table by a server with a high-spirited cheer, “Yoisho!”, and the server delicately cuts the meat in 4 sections, explaining each part, and then cooks it to perfection. They also have other customer pleasing services such as offering half portions of every menu item for half the price from their richly varied menu, and providing a very friendly serving style, which makes for high customer satisfaction, and has also led them to the quick success in growing into a very popular restaurant and increasing the number of locations as well. Overseas, they opened one in Hawaii in 2014 following Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China, and exactly 2 years has passed since the opening of this New York restaurant which was in late May of 2015.
“Since the very beginning, We were already thinking about going to New York,” says Jumpei Sakai, the General Manager of the New York restaurant. They started researching for a location in 2012 when they only had less than 5 restaurants in Japan, and they were able to open one in New York only within 5 years from the founding of the business. The New York restaurant is positioned as their flagship restaurant by running it with a higher-end operation style compared to other branches in Japan and other countries. They have absolute confidence in their secret sauce inherited from their mother who used to run a yakiniku restaurant in Tsuruhashi, Osaka, and reproduces the same taste of Japan. The Hamideru Kalbi ($45) is also the favorite item in New York as well. The Japanese Style Cold Noodle ($6) is served in light Japanese dashi soup which is the key factor to choose this item in which 8 kinds of ingredients have been cooked for 8 hours. It is served in a small ball, and is a musthave item to complete your yakiniku meal. The New York restaurant offers an upgraded menu including the New York only “Thickly Cut Special Filet Steak with Garlic” ($25), and “Deep Fried Shrimp and Quail Egg with Shiso Leaf” ($5) in addition to “Japanese Black Wagyu”, and US-produced “Washugyu” and “Prime Beef”. As they do in Japan, customers can experience the joy of cooking meat by themselves, or let trained professional servers cook the high-quality meat for them.
You may think that it would be easy for yakiniku culture to become familiarized in the US where meat cooking culture is already settled in; however, it is not that easy for the Japanese-style yakiniku to get familiarized here in the States. People often ask “What is the difference from Korean barbecue?” So, they try to stress on for sushi and ramen to sink in. It would also take a long time for Japanese-style yakiniku to sink in, but I am willing to accept the slow process.”
“The best way to market it is to show it through our dishes and services in the restaurant,” Mr. Sakai says. The majority of their customers come by word of mouth, but they do a unique pinpointing promotion for the Chinese customers who account for 60% of the whole clientele.
It is interesting that they have added menu items that are targeted for the Chinese customers such as “Uni Yukhoe” ($18) and “Uni and Wagyu Toro Sushi” ($10), and also a line of fruit liquors such as ume and yuzu wine drinks to cater to Chinese clientele who don’t prefer beer and sake. A promotion that would tickle repeating customers' minds has also been effective as it is in Japan, in which a golden tong is given to the customer after their tenth visit. In the future, they will try to lower the cost without compromising the quality, and increase the sales of alcoholic drinks. They are also planning to promote parings of original cocktails with the food menu aggressively.
Now that they are in the third year, they are looking to develop the second restaurant. Since it is still a young company, they are not persistent about the line of business or the current business model. “Yakiniku Futago” has a strong presence in the Japanese yakiniku industry. I am certain that they will also develop freely and flexibly in the US under their principle which is “to impress customers”.
焼肉界の革命児、日本式焼肉文化を米国で広める
東京首都圏と海外に約50店舗を展開する『大阪焼肉・ホルモン ふたご』。焼き肉激戦区として有名な大阪・鶴橋生まれの在日コリアン3世、李純哲（リ・スンチョル）と李純峯（リ・スンボン）の双子の兄弟が、2010年に創業した。鉄板からはみ出る大きさの黒毛和牛「はみ出るカルビ」は、同店の急成長を後押しした人気メニューだ。「よいしょー！」という威勢のよい掛け声と共にテーブルに運ばれてきて、店員が、4つの部位を説明しながら丁寧に切り分け、最高の状態に焼き上げてくれる。他にも、豊富なメニューを半量ずつ半額で提供したり、顧客密着型の接客をしたりなど、満足度の高いサービスを提供したことで瞬く間に人気店へ成長、店舗数も急速に拡大した。海外店舗は台湾、香港、中国に続き、2014年12月にハワイへ進出。ニューヨーク店は、2015年5月末に開店。ちょうど丸2年が経ったところだ。
「創業当時からニューヨーク進出を考えていた」と話すのは、ニューヨーク店でジェネラルマネージャを務める酒井純平氏。まだ日本国内3～5店舗だった2012年当時に視察をはじめ、創業からたった5年後の2015年にニューヨーク開店に至った。ニューヨーク店は、日本や他の海外店舗と比較して高級展開で、フラッグシップ店舗として位置づけている。大阪・鶴橋で焼肉店を営んでいた母から受け継いだ秘伝のタレには絶対の自信があり、日本の味をそのまま再現。「はみ出るカルビ」（$45）は、ここでもやはり人気ナンバー1だ。「日本式冷麺」（$6）は8種類の具材を8時間煮込み、あっさりした和風鰹出汁が決め手。小ぶりの碗で提供されるため、焼肉のシメには欠かせないメニューだ。ニューヨークだけで展開する「特選ヒレガーリックステーキ」（$25）や「海老とウズラの大葉揚げ」（$5）などの独自メニューも加え、また「日本産黒毛和牛」「米国産和州牛」「米国産プライムビーフ」も取りそろえ、アップグレードした内容で展開している。顧客自ら肉を焼く楽しみも提供しつつ、高品質の肉は訓練された店員が焼くという接客も、日本同様だ。
もともと肉料理文化が根付く米国なので、焼肉は親しまれやすく浸透しやすいと考えるかもしれない。しかし、日本式の焼肉を浸透させるのは決して簡単なことではない。
「韓国式バーベキューと何が違うのか？」という質問も多く、さまざまな種類の肉やホルモンを少量ずつ提供することや、それぞれの部位に合わせた焼き方・食べ方を提案する繊細さなど、日本式焼肉の特徴をアピールするよう心がけている。「寿司やラーメンも定着するまでに30年の年月を要した。日本式の焼肉が定着するまで時間がかかるだろうが、コツコツ取り組みたい」と酒井氏は続ける。
「店内で提供する料理やサービスが最大のマーケティング」と酒井氏。主な集客は口コミだが、客の60％を占める中国系に対してピンポイントでプロモーションを実施している点がユニークだ。「うにユッケ」（$18）「うにと大トロ炙り握り」（$10）など中国系客が好むうにや和牛のメニューも強化。また、あまりビールや日本酒を飲まない彼らに対し、梅酒や柚子酒など果実酒のラインナップを増やしたのも興味深い。10回以上来店した客には名前入りの金のトングをプレゼントするという、リピーターの心をくすぐる試みも、日本同様で功を奏している。今後は、品質を落とすことなくフードコストを下げる、アルコール売上を伸ばすなどの工夫を試みていくという。オリジナルカクテルや料理とのペアリングも積極的に提案したいと考えている。
3年目に突入した今、2店舗目の展開も視野に入れている。まだ若い会社なので、焼肉という業態や現在のビジネスモデルにも固執することもない。日本の焼肉業界で圧倒的な存在感を示す『焼肉ふたご』、米国でも「顧客を感動させる」という信念のもと、自由に柔軟に展開していくに違いない。
Yakiniku Futago
37 W 17th Street
New York, NY 10011
Tel: 212-620-0225
http://www.futago25usa.com/
Mon - Sat : 12:00 pm - 2:30 pm / 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Sun : 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
