P.F. Chang's Taneko Tavern To Tap Emerging Japanese Trend (1/2)

Calling Japanese-style casual dining “a wide-open playing field,” P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. is preparing to test a new concept called Taneko Japanese Tavern, whose prices will exceed those of the company’s namesake bistro chain. With the concept still in development for a Scottsdale debut, P.F. Chang’s chairman and chief executive Rick Federico is eyeing Japanese food as a likely vehicle for his company to repeat what it had done with Chinese cuisine — make it accessible to Middle America as a non-intimidating dining option. Blooming High-end And Stylish Sushi Restaurants P.F. Chang’s isn’t the only operator to see room for growth in Japanese casual dining. While high-end and ultra stylish sushi restaurants continue to grow in popularity, operators such as Miami-based Benihana, Shabu Zen of Boston and the Los Angeles-based Dolce Group’s Geisha House concept are finding success at a lower price point with broad menus that relegate sushi to a supporting role. And some new players are folding an element of entertainment into the mix. At Ninja New York, for example, which opened this month, servers wear authentic ninja costumes, and “warriors” spring out from hidden corners to perform magic at the tables. A sister restaurant to Ninja Akasaka in Japan, the Ninja New York branch is owned by Haruo Yazaki, whose family operates the giant Skylark family-restaurant chain in Japan. In Hawaii hotelier Ken Mitsusune is scheduled to open Tsukiji Fish Market and Restaurant next spring in Honolulu’s Ala Moana Center near Waikiki. The expansive restaurant will feature a raw market modeled after the renowned wholesale seafood market by the same name in Tokyo. But in the Hawaiian version of Tsukiji Fish Market, diners can watch the local catch being filleted while they eat at a yakitori bar, consume sushi and serve themselves from a Japanese buffet of hot and cold dishes. Scottsdale-based P.F. Chang’s also operates the 70-unit fast-casual Pei Wei Asian Diner brand, which was first imagined as a Japanese noodle shop, though the concept has evolved to have more of a pan-Asian menu. “People are embracing Asian and Japanese cuisine in general,” said Eric Wold, a foodservice stock analyst with Merriman, Curhan, Ford & Co. in San Francisco. He said P.F. Chang’s, with 124 units, had done a “great job” of bringing Asian casual dining to the mainstream market. Taneko Japanese Tavern Concept The forthcoming Taneko Japanese Tavern will be a partnership between P.F. Chang’s and company veterans Paul Muller and Rich Sullivan, though Federico said the equity proportions had not yet been determined. The Japanese concept’s menu is likely to offer the kind of fare featured at Japan’s old-fashioned izakaya pubs, which typically are rustic-style casual restaurants where office workers gather for sake or pitchers of beer and small-plate meals of simple, traditional fare. The popularity of izakayas in Japan has been compared by industry watchers there to the U.S. revival of retro diners and roadhouse-style restaurants. The plan for Taneko, Federico said, is to focus on grilled and braised dishes and meats roasted in a wood-burning oven, though tempura and sushi also will be a component. Dishes might include sake-braised pork ribs or salt-grilled chicken. “You won’t feel like you’re walking into a sushi bar,” he said. One key difference between Taneko and P.F. Chang’s will be the tab. Taneko likely will have an average dinner check of about $30, which is higher than P.F. Chang’s average of about $25. Japanese Dishes VS Chinese Dishes Many mainstream consumers in cities with large Japanese communities, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, will be familiar with such a traditional-style Japanese restaurant. But the million-dollar question, Federico said, is whether other consumers will recognize the distinctions between Japanese and Chinese dishes, or if they will “lump it into one experience.”