The One Group is officially the new owner of Benihana.
The parent company of the STK and Kona Grill chains on Wednesday completed its acquisition of the 86-unit teppanyaki brand for $365 million in cash. The deal also includes Benihana’s smaller sister concept, the 19-unit RA Sushi.
The additions will nearly triple One Group’s footprint from 63 locations to 168 worldwide and more than double its annual revenue to more than $1 billion.
They will also create economies of scale in One’s supply chain, technology and operations that are expected to eventually save the company $20 million a year.
“We are delighted to have completed the acquisition and look forward to this next chapter for our company,” said One CEO Manny Hilario in a statement.
He added that Benihana gives Denver-based One new development opportunities and fits in well with its portfolio of experiential concepts. It plans to open three to five new Benihanas a year going forward.
Miami-based Benihana was founded in 1964 and is credited with bringing teppanyaki to the U.S. Teppanyaki is a Japanese cooking style in which chefs cook on a flat-top grill in front of customers.
It's One's second acquisition after it bought Kona out of bankruptcy in 2019 for $25 million.
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