Jap restaurateur bullish about fastfood venture

A Japanese restaurateur ventures into the highly untapped Japanese fastfood market in Cebu capturing the middle-range or working community diners.

Couple Akira and Ligaya Machida believe that there is a growing market for fastfood type of Japanese food in Cebu. Thus, they opened their second Nonki Japanese restaurant at the ground floor of the Sykes building in Mabolo.

This is the second Nonki Restaurant in the province. The first outlet is a semi-fine dining Japanese resto located at A.S. Fortuna Street in Mandaue City.

The first Nonki fastfood outlet has a 60-seating capacity. Soon, the company is set to open another Japanese fastfood restaurant at SM City Cebu.

Akira Machida had been in the food and beverage business in Japan for years. After marrying Boholana wife Ligaya Arong, he opened his first restaurant here three years ago.

According to Ligaya Machida, their first restaurant outlet in A.S. Fortuna has been able to attract the high-end clientele, and a good number of Japanese expatriates.

Now, Nonki is trying to penetrate the working community market, especially those working in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Although, there are a lot of inquiries for franchising, Ligaya said, her husband prefers not to open Nonki for franchise deals in order to maintain the quality of the food.

The couple is also considering opening a fastfood outlet at the Asiatown IT Park, however, she said the SM opening is the company''s priority right now.

She said Cebu''s market for Japanese food offering has improved significantly with the locals starting to love the Japanese food.

In the past, majority of its clients were the Japanese expatriates and the discriminating wealthy Cebuanos. Now, the market has expanded and the monthly earners, middle-range young professionals have become a good market for this kind of food preparation.

Machida stressed that the Nonki fastfood outlets offer lower price of Japanese foods compared to full-service restaurants.