Benihana Inc. serves a variety of sushi, including sashimi, hand rolls and specialty rolls.

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What began as a small Japanese family business struggling to make ends meet on the streets of New York City is now a cultural icon that has served more than 100 million meals since 1964. Benihana attributes its success to solid relationships with its customers, investors and employees, according to the Miami-based restaurant chain.

Modeled after traditional Japanese hibachi steakhouses, Benihana features a Japanese cooking method known as teppanyaki, which is when a meal of steak, chicken, seafood and vegetables is prepared fresh and served by a performing chef to an intimate audience of diners.

“Rather than using conventional kitchens, Benihana’s highly skilled chefs present and prepare all entrees at a hibachi table, around which up to eight guests are seated,” the company explains. “A fast-paced performance of chopping and juggling creates an exciting teppanyaki-style dining experience for guests of all ages.”

Continuing Success
Benihana is the largest operator of teppanyaki restaurants in the United States, boasting more than 5,000 employees who operate in 19 franchises worldwide. “The rare longevity of the Benihana concept and product distinguishes this company from the rest of the industry,” it asserts. “No other restaurant chain can claim it’s as successful.

“Since 1964, Benihana has offered the same quality of service, the same fresh product and a loyal customer relationship,” the company adds. “In fact, the Benihana concept is still growing. Lunchtime business continues to increase, new restaurants are opening every year and the chain is rapidly expanding.”

In 1999, the company purchased a majority share in Haru, an upscale sushi concept out of New York and says it had “already proven itself” at two locations. “The original Haru sushi restaurant opened on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1995,” Benihana explains. “Haru’s success, fueled by a combination of excellent quality and reasonable prices, led to the opening of a second location in 1998. Today, there are nine Haru locations.”

Unique History
Benihana’s roots begin in Japan shortly after World War II. Yunosuke Aoki, a samurai descendent and popular entertainer, opened a small coffee shop in Tokyo with his wife, Katsu. He named the restaurant “Benihana,” or “red flower,” after the red safflower found in neighborhood streets. What made Benihana stand apart from other coffee shops was the fact that it used real sugar with its brew, which required Aoki to pedal his bicycle more than 20 miles to purchase.  

His eldest son, Hiroaki, who grew up in the business with his three other brothers, “also grasped the important lesson of offering guests something out of the ordinary,” the company notes. But, first, he developed a talent for wrestling that eventually earned him a spot on the Japanese Olympic wrestling team. This opportunity enabled him to travel to the United States where he became smitten with the bustle of New York City and dreamt of starting his own business.

“Adopting a name which would be easier for Americans to pronounce, ‘Rocky Aoki’ set off to have his dream become reality,” Benihana says. “He worked seven days a week selling ice cream in New York City and studied restaurant management at night. Through saving and borrowing, he scraped together enough money to finance his first four-table restaurant on New York's West 56th Street.

Benihana of Tokyo was only serving one or two customers a day. But, six months after the restaurant opened, an enthusiastic review by Clementine Paddleford, legendary restaurant critic of the New York Herald-Tribune, reversed the trend for good.”

New Yorkers started flocking to the restaurant and Aoki found himself having to turn away some of his guests simply because there was not enough space and food to go around. This was how the company began to grow.

“By bringing Japanese food into the mainstream and pioneering its entertaining style of presentation, Benihana has also paved the way  for the popularity of other Japanese [foods],” it says.