Todai was a restaurant chain based in the United States. As of 2016, the chain had over 19 restaurants in the United States, 7 restaurants in South Korea and each one restaurant in Hong Kong, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.[1] On February 15, 2019, their official website with a copyright date of 2009 states, "All Todai USA locations are close for renovation. We plan to reopen in December 2017." As of 2020 there are no Todai branded restaurants in the United States but instead many locations have rebranded to Makino, 100s Seafood Buffet and Haiku.
History
In 1985, two Japanese brothers named Toru and Kaku Makino opened the first Todai location in Santa Monica, California.[2] Toru Makino previously had success with his Japanese restaurant Edokko, which he founded in 1981 in Burbank.[3][4] Brother Kaku also had experience in the restaurant business; at the age of 20, he had opened a bento shop in Tokyo.[5] The Todai Santa Monica location became popular in the area, so the Makinos kept expanding until they had ten locations in California by the late 1990s.[2] In 1998, Korean investment group Meramia, under Hans Kim, purchased a majority stake in Todai. Kim, a Korean engineer and regular customer at the Santa Monica location, had previously bought a Todai location in Studio City, Los Angeles in 1995.[2]
See also
External links
References
- Si-soo Park. 'Price is negotiable, but quality is not' The Korea Times, 2014-01-02, retrieved 2020-08-14^
- Marc Ballon. Todai Hopes to Expand Chain Los Angeles Times, 2002-02-19, retrieved 2020-08-14^
- All-you-can-eat lobster starts June 5