Celeb chef Jamie Oliver's U.K. restaurant chain folds, threatening 1.000 jobs
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver's British restaurant chain filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, partly due to increased competition and escalating rents in local commercial districts. The insolvency will leave 1,000 people out of work and reignited worries about local retail and food outlets in Britain, ...
Japanese convenience stores tackle food waste issue; households and restaurants slow to get on board
Major convenience store operators begin introducing measures to curb food waste as companies step up efforts to address the issue.
Japan's Watami restaurant operator to set up Singapore unit to source Southeast Asian workers
Major Japanese restaurant chain operator Watami Co. will establish a joint venture in Singapore to train and send Southeast Asian workers to Japan in response to Tokyo's drive to accept more foreign workers. Watami said Wednesday the joint venture with IT Global Corp., a Japanese ...
Japanese fast-food chain Yoshinoya ditches rice for veg with new take on gyūdon beef bowl
Fast-food restaurant operator Yoshinoya Holdings Co. started selling on Thursday a bowl of beef on vegetables, instead of the usual steamed rice, responding to requests from health-conscious people. The restaurant chain said Wednesday its first-ever beef bowl without rice had been made in collaboration with ...
Rugby World Cup organizers express concern over beer stocks as Japan girds for thirsty foreign fans
The committee warned restaurant operators that running out of beer would cost them lucrative business opportunities and could create bad publicity.
Yoshinoya reveals first annual net loss in six years, citing cost of new tablet device order system
Yoshinoya Holdings Co. incurred an annual net loss for the first time in six years for the year ended in February, the fast-food restaurant group said Thursday. The red ink came as the company, known for its mainstay gyūdon beef-on-rice bowls, booked an impairment loss ...
Bumpy ride feared in Japan as new visa types issued to ease labor crunch
Japan will open its doors wider to workers from abroad when the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act takes effect. However, with it comes a host of other issues.
Foreign workers are on the way, but are Japanese businesses ready?
A new visa program designed to lure more workers to Japan takes effect Monday, and government officials and industry leaders hope two new types will help alleviate the national labor shortage. But whether businesses are prepared to accept them is an entirely different matter. Companies and ...
Restaurant chain operator Skylark to impose total smoking ban from September
Restaurant chain operator Skylark Holdings Co. said Tuesday it will impose a total smoking ban at all of its around 3,200 outlets in the nation from September. The group, which operates the Jonathan's and Gusto chains, "wants to prevent undesirable passive smoking, and cares about ...
Disgraced U.S. celebrity chef Mario Batali divests of all restaurants
U.S. celebrity chef Mario Batali has sold his stake in all of his restaurants after being accused of sexual assault by several women, the businesses announced Wednesday. "We wanted to let you all know that Mario is now fully divested from our businesses. This week, ...
Seven Ikinari Steak restaurants in New York to close due to poor profitability
Seven of the 11 Ikinari Steak restaurants in New York operated by Pepper Food Service Co. will close, the Japanese company's U.S. unit announced. The operator of the stand-up steakhouse chain has judged it would be difficult to improve the loss-making outlets' profitability. Of the ...
Sommelier lapel pins — some fake — sold online in Japan despite ban
The Japan Sommelier Association has found that pins it issues to those who pass the sommelier and other wine expert qualifications have been sold on auction sites despite a ban, and that some of the pins are fake, association officials said Monday. The association has ...
