Sakae Sushi - "McDonalds of Sushi"

Sakae is going places - First outlet in the US!!
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Sakae Sushi takes a bite of the Big Apple
Poised for the big time, the home-grown chain snags a swanky location and beefs up its menu.
By Huang Lijie Nov 01, 2007 The Straits Times

HOME-GROWN sushi chain Sakae Sushi is opening its first United States outlet in New York City next month on the ground floor of the iconic Chrysler Building.

The chain is expanding into the United States and Apex-Pal International, which runs the chain, invested an initial S$2 million to set up the fully owned subsidiary, Apex-Pal USA Inc, last year.
Of this amount, an estimated six-figure sum was spent on renovating and equipping the 3,000-sq-ft, 70-seat conveyor belt sushi restaurant in Manhattan.

Chief executive officer Douglas Foo told Life!: 'Our venture into the US is in line with our vision of becoming the top recall brand for Japanese casual dining.'When people think of sushi, we want them to think 'Sakae Sushi' in the same way people think of Starbucks for coffee and Pizza Hut for pizza.' The company, which has opened Sakae Sushi outlets in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, China and Hong Kong, is exploring other possible locations in the US for more restaurants.

Mr Foo said that the network of business associates in the US that the company had been cultivating for some two years helped him secure Sakae's swanky New York City address. The lease will last more than 10 years. The 77-storey Chrysler Building was built in 1930 by the automobile magnate Walter Chrysler and it houses both offices and retail outlets. It is currently owned by US real estate company Tishman Speyer Properties.

Mr Foo acknowledged that competition in the restaurant industry in New York is stiff but said that the chain's ability to 'offer good quality Japanese food at the best value consistently' in all its 60 outlets worldwide is a 'formula that will win the hearts of New Yorkers'. The restaurant will serve sushi, sashimi, Japanese bento box meals and kaminabe, or paper hot pot.

Conveyor belt items will cost US$1.90 (S$2.75) for regular sushi rolls, US$3.90 for items such as chawanmushi, a Japanese egg custard, and US$6.90 for premium items such as uni or sea urchin. In Singapore, diners pay $1.90 to $6.50 for its conveyor belt items. The New York City restaurant will also open for breakfast, so new items such as the Sakae muffin - an English muffin stuffed with grilled sliced beef in yakiniku sauce - and a green salad wrap served with an apple sauce dip will be debuting there. There are also plans to operate a 24-hour delivery service soon.