Benihana will open its first fast-casual concept, Benihana Express, on 16th Street in downtown Denver.
The Japanese restaurant chain will open at 1380 16th Street, according to The Denver Post. But it won’t be your usual sit-down; instead, it will deliver its staples in a fast casual format and setting.
Benihana will occupy 3,000 square feet on the ground floor of the 16M Building, a mixed-use building, at the corner of 16th Street and Market Street.
Benihana owns 70 Japanese teppanyaki restaurants and 10 franchises in the US, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. Additionally, one Samurai restaurant and 12 RA Sushi restaurants in the US. The President and Chief Executive Officer is Manny Hilario, who joined the company in 2024.
In 1964, Japanese-born Rocky H. Aoki opened the first Benihana restaurant on Manhattan’s West Side at 61 West 56th St. In 2024, The ONE Group Hospitality acquired the Japanese chain.
Benihana is well known for teppanyaki dining in the US, where chefs prepare multi-course meals featuring steak, chicken, and seafood on a communal flat-top grill right in front of the guests.
An opening date has not been announced yet. Hilario could not be reached for comment.
