Benihana

What Benihana does

Benihana, headquartered in Aventura, Florida, is the largest operator of teppanyaki restaurants in the United States, founded in 1964 by Rocky H. Aoki. The company operates 70 Benihana restaurants plus one Samurai restaurant and 12 RA Sushi restaurants, with 80+ locations across the United States, Caribbean, and Central and South America. Its core product is the signature teppanyaki dining experience, in which chefs prepare fresh ingredients on flat steel hibachi grills tableside, combining culinary performance with theatrical entertainment such as knife skills, flaming displays, and the iconic onion volcano. The portfolio also includes a sushi bar, group and private dining, off-premise catering, the Benihana at Home mobile chef experience, and interactive culinary classes (Be The Chef, Sushi & Me, Sushi & Sake). Supporting offerings include gift cards, the Friends with Benefits multi-brand loyalty program with approximately 6 million members, and the Kabuki Kids children's birthday program.

Benihana is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The ONE Group Hospitality, Inc. (NASDAQ:STKS), which acquired the company in 2024 for $365 million. The acquisition drove consolidated EBITDA expansion from approximately $33 million in 2023 to $92-93 million exiting 2025, with full-year 2025 consolidated revenue of $806 million (up 19.7% YoY) and 2026 guidance of $840-855 million. Revenue is generated through full-service restaurant dining (food and beverage sales), online ordering via order.benihana.com, catering and offsite events, franchise royalties (5% of gross sales plus 1% advertising contribution), one-time franchise fees ($40,000 domestic, $50,000 international), and emerging retail CPG products (Flock Chip snacks with Flock Foods, salad dressings, frozen gyoza). Pricing spans $3 Happy Hour items, $15.95-$19.95 Power Lunch meals, $39-$125 premium experiences, $300+ Be The Chef packages, and franchise licensing.

The customer base is distributed across special-occasion diners (birthdays, anniversaries, milestones), families with children, business lunch professionals targeted by the Power Lunch initiative, and Japanese cuisine enthusiasts. Distribution combines company-owned restaurants, franchise locations, arena/stadium presences (Yankee Stadium, Hard Rock Stadium, PHX Arena), e-commerce for gift cards and online ordering, and direct catering sales. Recent strategic actions include the 10-restaurant Bay Area franchise deal, retail CPG expansion through the Flock Foods partnership, and the Power Lunch daypart launch.

Name

Benihana

Legal name

Benihana National Corp.

Website

https://benihana.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Benihana is the largest teppanyaki restaurant chain in the United States, operating 80+ locations where chefs prepare Japanese hibachi meals tableside with theatrical entertainment. A subsidiary of ONE Group Hospitality since 2024, it serves families, business diners, and special-occasion customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurants

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Food Services and Drinking Places (722)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG)

Keywords

• Japanese teppanyaki dining
• Hibachi restaurant chain
• Sushi restaurant services
• Catering and events
• Franchise restaurant operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Aventura

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Full-Service Restaurant Dining: Benihana operates full-service teppanyaki restaurants where guests are seated around hibachi grills and served by entertaining chefs. Revenue generated from food and beverage sales during dine-in service. ONE Group Hospitality reported approximately $805-806 million full-year 2025 revenue.
2. Online Ordering and Takeout: Customers can order online for takeout and delivery through order.benihana.com. Gift cards and promotional cards can also be redeemed online at Benihana.com.
3. Catering and Offsite Events: Benihana offers catering services for events with offsite chefs and full menu offerings including Benihana at Home experience for private events in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties.
4. Franchise Royalties: Franchise fee of $40,000 per domestic franchise agreement and $50,000 per franchise agreement in Central/South America or Caribbean. Monthly royalty fee of 5% of gross sales plus 1% advertising contribution.
5. Retail Products: Benihana has expanded into retail with products including salad dressings, frozen gyoza, and Benihana Teriyaki Flock Chip chicken skin crisps through partnership with Flock Foods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Benihana operates the largest teppanyaki restaurant chain in the United States, offering a full-service Japanese-American dining experience built around theatrical hibachi-style cooking performed tableside by skilled chefs. The company complements its signature teppanyaki format with sushi bars, catering and offsite events, a mobile Benihana at Home experience, the interactive Be the Chef training program, and an emerging retail consumer packaged goods line. Revenue is generated through dine-in service, online ordering, franchise royalties, gift cards, and licensed retail products.

Product overview

Benihana operates as the largest teppanyaki restaurant chain in the United States, offering a unified dining experience centered on theatrical hibachi-style cooking performed tableside by skilled chefs. The portfolio encompasses core teppanyaki dining with premium proteins (steak, chicken, seafood) and an extensive sushi bar featuring nigiri, specialty rolls, and sashimi. The company extends its brand through catering and offsite event services, the Benihana at Home mobile experience, and interactive culinary classes (Be the Chef, Sushi & Me, Sushi & Sake). Supporting offerings include gift cards, the Friends with Benefits multi-brand loyalty program, and the Kabuki Kids children's birthday program. Recent expansion into retail CPG includes frozen gyoza, salad dressings, and protein snacks through the Flock Foods partnership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kabuki Kids®: Children's loyalty program for kids ages 12 and younger, offering birthday celebrations and free souvenir mugs with meal purchases.
• Friends with Benefits
• Benihana at Home
• Be The Chef

Products and services

• Teppanyaki Dining Experience
• Sushi Bar
• Group & Private Dining
• Catering & Offsite Events
• Benihana at Home
• Be the Chef Experience
• Benihana Online Ordering
• Gift Cards
• Power Lunch
• Benihana Teriyaki Flock Chip
• Benihana Retail Products (Salad Dressings and Frozen Gyoza)
• Sushi & Me Experience
• Sushi & Sake 101
• Sushi & Sake 201
• Kabuki Sushi Class
• Dojo Sushi Class
• The Trish Trio
• Summer Seasonal Cocktails
• Benihana Franchise Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 80+ restaurants serving more than 100 million meals over 60+ years of operation
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Flock FoodsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 December 2025Benihana partnered with Flock Foods to introduce Benihana Teriyaki Flock Chip, a new high-protein chicken snack with minimal carbs and sugar. Available for purchase online.
• OpenTablecoreTechnology or IntegrationOpenTable powers Benihana's online reservation system, enabling customers to book tables through the Benihana website and manage reservations.
• St. Jude Children's Research HospitalminorOthersBenihana supports St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through Dine With Purpose charitable initiative, having donated over $70,000 to the organization.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• P.F. Chang's: Operates a national chain of full-service Asian-themed restaurants in the same casual-dining segment as Benihana. Competes for similar special-occasion family and group dining occasions and offers a comparable combination of table service, lunch-daypart menus, and Asian cuisine.
• STK Steakhouse: A sister brand under ONE Group Hospitality sharing the same parent loyalty program and corporate infrastructure. Operates premium full-service dining with theatrical service elements, providing direct read-throughs on portfolio strategy, customer overlap, and operational synergies.
• Kona Grill: Another ONE Group-owned concept offering upscale American grill cuisine in a casual-dining format. Shares the multi-brand loyalty program, gift card platform, and franchise economics with Benihana, and targets overlapping suburban and metropolitan family dining occasions.
• RA Sushi: Wholly-owned Benihana subsidiary operating a Japanese sushi bar chain. Most directly comparable on menu (sushi, sake, Japanese small plates), price point, and casual-dining service model, and competes in the same Japanese-cuisine consideration set.
• Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ: Operates interactive tableside Japanese BBQ dining with charcoal grills and an experiential format that mirrors Benihana's chef-cooks-in-front-of-you model. Targets similar group dining occasions and the same experiential-Asian-casual-dining customer.

Broad incumbents

• Nobu Restaurants: A globally recognized upscale Japanese brand offering teppanyaki-style seating and premium Japanese cuisine. Competes with Benihana at the higher end of Japanese experiential dining and shares theatrical cooking elements, though at significantly higher price points.
• Ruth's Chris Steak House: Operates premium full-service steakhouse restaurants positioned in the same special-occasion dining consideration set as Benihana's birthday/anniversary customer. Both compete for celebration check occasions at higher price points.
• Bonefish Grill: A national casual-dining chain with comparable group-occasion positioning, suburban real estate footprint, and price architecture. Competes for the same middle-income family dining occasions outside of Asian cuisine specifically.

Regional players

• Benihana at Home franchise operators: International franchise partners operating Benihana-branded restaurants in Aruba, Brazil, El Salvador, and Panama. Operate the same concept in regional markets outside the US, providing read-throughs on franchise unit economics in different macro environments.

Others

• Flock Foods: Benihana's strategic CPG partner producing the co-branded Teriyaki Flock Chip. Relevant as the infrastructure provider for Benihana's retail CPG expansion into protein snacks and potentially additional packaged food categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/benihana
• Instagraminstagram.com/benihana
• TikToktiktok.com/@benihana
• Xx.com/benihana
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/benihana

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Benihana