Glaze

What Glaze does

Glaze (operating as Glaze Teriyaki) is a privately held restaurant group founded in 2010 and headquartered in New York that operates a fast-casual chain offering customizable teriyaki bowls and Japanese-influenced fare with what it labels a "Seattle-style" approach. Its core product is a build-your-own bowl system where customers select from a tiered protein line (including Chicken Thigh, Grass Fed Steak, Ora King Salmon, Charred Pork Ribs, Organic Tofu, Filet Mignon, and Hidden Fjord Salmon), a base (white rice, brown rice, or salad), and a house-made teriyaki sauce (regular, gluten-free, spicy, extra spicy, and hottest variants). Sides and appetizers such as gyoza, edamame, shishito peppers, soba salad, and miso soup round out the menu. The stated differentiator is an allergen-conscious, dietary-lifestyle-inclusive menu (vegan, keto, paleo, gluten-free) supported by premium ingredient sourcing, notably Ora King Salmon and 100% grass-fed beef, and a partnership with Zero Acre for alternative cooking oils.

The company distributes through six retail storefronts: five dine-in restaurants in NYC (Union Square, Midtown East, Hudson Square, Williamsburg, and Bryant Park) and one delivery-, pickup-, and catering-only site in Chicago (850 W Superior St). A ToastTab integration provides standardized online ordering, pickup, and delivery across all locations, and a dedicated catering vertical serves corporate and event customers via email-based ordering. Customer segments are concentrated in health-conscious urban consumers and office workers in dense NYC commercial districts, with corporate catering as a secondary channel. Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the website and catering requires a direct quote. There is no disclosed parent company, no institutional investor or venture backing referenced, and no funding rounds, M&A, or leadership changes in the data; revenue is not disclosed.

From a technology standpoint, Glaze operates with minimal proprietary technology and no documented AI/ML capability. Its primary technology dependency is third-party (ToastTab for commerce/ordering), and its strongest intangible asset is its proprietary sauce recipe set and curated ingredient partnerships. The business is a conventional multi-unit restaurant operator differentiated primarily by menu format, ingredient quality, and dietary-inclusivity positioning rather than by technology, network, or scale-based moats.

Name

Glaze

Legal name

Glaze

Website

https://glaze.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Glaze is a privately held restaurant chain operating five NYC dine-in locations and one Chicago delivery/pickup site, serving health-conscious consumers and office professionals with made-to-order customizable teriyaki bowls, house-made sauces, premium ingredients, and corporate catering.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fast-Casual Restaurants

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Salad & Bowl Concepts (Grain/Protein/Healthy Bowls) (THAFABAF)

Keywords

• Teriyaki bowls
• Fast casual dining
• Japanese-inspired cuisine
• Catering services
• Healthy eating options

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Food and beverage sales: Restaurant generates revenue through individual food orders at physical locations and via online ordering platform. Customers purchase made-to-order teriyaki bowls, proteins, bases, sauces, and sides. Additional revenue from catering services for events and corporate functions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Glaze operates a fast-casual restaurant chain selling made-fresh-to-order teriyaki bowls customizable with a choice of protein, base, and house-made teriyaki sauce, supplemented by sides and appetizers. The company serves customers through dine-in at five New York City locations plus pickup, delivery, online ordering via ToastTab, and an event/corporate catering line, with an additional delivery/pickup/catering-only location in Chicago.

Product overview

Glaze Teriyaki is a restaurant chain offering a unified food service experience centered on made-fresh-to-order teriyaki bowls. The core product is the customizable teriyaki bowl system where customers select a protein (from options including chicken, steak, salmon, pork ribs, tofu, and filet mignon), a base (white rice, brown rice, or salad), and a signature house-made teriyaki sauce (ranging from regular to extra spicy varieties). The company operates multiple brick-and-mortar locations in New York City plus a Chicago delivery/pickup-only location. Supplementary offerings include catering services for events and an online ordering platform via Toasttab for pickup and delivery. Side items like dumplings, edamame, and soups complement the main bowl offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Glaze Teriyaki Restaurant

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Zero AcrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZero Acre is a partner providing better cooking oils for Glaze's food preparation. This partnership supports Glaze's health-focused positioning by enabling cooking with more sustainable and potentially healthier oil alternatives.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Sweetgreen: Public fast-casual salad and grain-bowl chain competing for the same health-conscious urban lunch occasion and customizing-meal workflow as Glaze.
• Dig: NYC-anchored fast-casual bowl and plate concept serving the same office-worker and health-conscious customer base in New York as Glaze.
• Pokeworks: Fast-casual customizable Asian bowl concept competing for the same customizable-protein-and-base occasion that Glaze serves, including NYC locations.
• Teriyaki Madness: Multi-unit US franchise chain operating Japanese teriyaki-focused fast-casual restaurants with customizable bowls — the closest direct competitive analogue to Glaze by cuisine and format.
• Waba Grill: Fast-casual franchise specializing in teriyaki bowls, salads and plates — direct format and cuisine overlap with Glaze, including premium-protein positioning.
• Teriyaki Express: Counter-service teriyaki chain with similar quick-serve bowl format and protein/base customization; competes for value-conscious teriyaki-seeking consumers.
• Tender Greens: Upscale fast-casual concept offering bowls, plates and salads with premium sourcing — overlaps with Glaze on 'better ingredients, better-for-you' positioning and pricing tier.
• Just Salad: Fast-casual customizable bowl concept with omnichannel ordering and a strong NYC presence; overlaps with Glaze on healthy-bowl positioning and target demographics.
• Cava: Fast-casual Mediterranean bowl concept with premium ingredient positioning and a multi-channel dine-in/delivery/catering model structurally similar to Glaze.

Broad incumbents

• Panda Express: Largest US Asian-inspired quick-service chain; broader portfolio and mass-market positioning than Glaze but competes for the same Asian bowl/QSR lunch occasion.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/glazeteriyaki
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/glaze-teriyaki

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Glaze