Yakitori Franchise 'B Series' to Replicate Successful Stores, Expanding into Nagoya to Establish a New Standard for Restaurant Management

Mab Inc. (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, CEO: Kenma Son) has decided to expand its yakitori franchise 'B Series,' which operates on the concept of 'replicating successful stores,' into Nagoya. Following the opening of 'Miyamasuzaka Yakitori B9' scheduled for July 2026, 'Imaike Yakitori B7' will open in August 2026, marking the start of our expansion into the greater Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya (TONA) metropolitan areas.

B Series is a unique franchise model that addresses the structural issue of '70% of restaurants closing within 3 years'※ by having the headquarters responsible for recruitment, training, and store operations. By creating an environment where owners can focus on management, we are working to build a system that 'replicates successful stores.'

※ Trend based on past tracking surveys and statistical data from major restaurant support services.

Why Nagoya, Imaike?

In the restaurant industry, it is sometimes said that 'Nagoya is a difficult city for restaurant management.'

This is due to Nagoya's unique and mature dining culture. Many long-established and new, independent restaurants have been supported by the region for a long time, and customers' standards for restaurants are very high. Simply being a new establishment will not earn them favor; they must make customers want to return based on everything from the food, service, ambiance, and price to establish roots in the community. We believe that challenging ourselves in such a market is worthwhile.

B Series does not aim to create stores that attract crowds with fleeting trends, nor is it a chain brand that rapidly increases the number of stores in a short period. Our goal is to create successful stores, one by one, that become deeply rooted in their communities, are repeatedly chosen by local customers, and are loved for 10 or 20 years.

Imaike was chosen as the place where this philosophy could be best embodied.

Areas like Sakae and Meieki boast high customer traffic as Nagoya's leading commercial districts. Imaike, on the other hand, has the daily lives of its residents, and a natural coexistence of long-loved independent shops and new, innovative restaurants. It is a town where the value of the store itself is evaluated, and successful stores are nurtured through building relationships with regular customers, a culture that still thrives today.

What we want to prove is not that 'stores succeed because they are in high-traffic areas.' It is that 'truly valuable stores become rooted in the community and are repeatedly chosen.'

That is precisely why we chose Imaike, not Sakae or Meieki, for our first Nagoya store.

We believe that establishing a sustainable success model in this city will be the most valuable first step as B Series expands nationwide.

'Replicating Successful Stores': A New Form of Franchise Restaurant Management

B Series's concept differs fundamentally from conventional franchises.

What we are franchising is not a 'chain system' that uniformly implements store designs, menus, and store names nationwide. What we are franchising is the 'foundation' for creating successful stores. We standardize the soft aspects that support successful stores, such as store setup, personnel recruitment and training, operations, quality control, brand design, marketing, and store management, and the headquarters takes responsibility for their operation.

On the other hand, the store creation experienced by customers is not uniform. We believe that each town has its own culture, and each person has their own values. Therefore, we conduct research on each area before opening, and design the brand concept, space, and experiential value from scratch, taking into account the local culture, flow of people, and enjoyment of food. Imaike has its own B Series. While it is the same brand, no two stores are exactly alike. What we want to create are not chain stores where the experience is the same no matter where you go in the country, but unique stores that are loved precisely because they are in that particular town. B Series is not franchising stores, but franchising the 'system for success,' challenging a new model.

Future Expansion and the Creation of a New Category: Store OS (SOS)

We do not intend to negate existing franchise models. Franchising has been a wonderful system that has greatly developed Japan's restaurant industry. However, in recent years, the environment surrounding restaurants has changed significantly. Labor shortages, soaring recruitment costs, difficulties in training, and increasing complexity in store operations. Amidst these environmental changes, a gradual divergence has emerged between what the headquarters and owners seek. Headquarters, in order to support multiple stores with limited personnel, wants to standardize and streamline operations and processes as much as possible.

Meanwhile, owners, precisely because they may have less experience in restaurant management, seek not only know-how but also 'support' that includes personnel recruitment, training, and daily operations. Neither is wrong.

However, with the current structure, simply implementing the headquarters' system will not replicate successful stores, leading to stores closing due to issues with personnel or operations.

We wanted to change this structure itself. What we are challenging is the concept of Store OS (SOS). What we provide is not the brand or store design itself. It is the system that supports successful stores, including personnel recruitment, training, store operations, brand design, and marketing. In other words, it is the idea of installing a 'success' OS onto the hardware of a store. B Series is the first brand to implement this Store OS.

Moving forward, we will proceed with the expansion of B Series, focusing on the TONA metropolitan areas, and recruit franchise owners who resonate with our vision. Furthermore, we plan to deploy the Store OS model in new business formats beyond yakitori within 2026.

Our goal is not to increase the number of franchise brands. It is to socially implement a system that allows restaurants to remain successful for a long time, across various business formats. This is the future that Store OS (SOS) aims for.

Comment from Shin Yoichi, Executive Officer, COO, Head of B Series Business

We are not looking to increase the number of yakitori franchise stores. What we truly want to achieve is to create a 'system that can replicate successful stores.' It is no exaggeration to say that people are everything in the restaurant business. However, with the deepening labor shortage, many owners struggle with recruitment, training, and store operations, and are unable to dedicate sufficient time to management, which is what they should be focusing on.

On the other hand, headquarters, with its limited resources, is forced to standardize and streamline operations to increase the number of stores. We feel that this structure itself is a major challenge for the future of the restaurant industry. That is why, with B Series, we are challenging a model where the headquarters takes responsibility for the system that supports successful stores, such as personnel, operations, training, and brand design, rather than franchising the stores themselves.

The decision to open our first Nagoya store in Imaike is because we want to prove this concept. Stores succeed not because they are in high-traffic locations, but because they are repeatedly chosen by local customers. We want to prove this model in Imaike and expand it to TONA and then nationwide. B Series is not the goal. From here, we want to spread the new concept of Store OS (SOS) and create an industry where restaurants can continue to be successful for a longer time and in a healthier manner.

About B Series

This is an operation and personnel fully outsourced franchise model that allows you to own a business offering high-quality yakitori and alcoholic beverages with a complete hands-off experience. Using the directly managed store 'Shin Fukushima Yakitori B3' in Shin-Fukushima, Osaka, as a model, we are recruiting franchise owners primarily in major cities.

Website: https://fc-bseries.com/

About Shin Fukushima Yakitori B3

Name: Shin Fukushima Yakitori B3

Opening: September 01, 2024

Location: 1F AchtHIKResidence Fukushima, 3-6-18 Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 553-0003

Store Manager: Masato Sakaguchi

Business Hours: 17:30 - 24:00 (Last Order 23:30)

Nearest Stations:

JR Shin-Fukushima Station: 3-minute walk (150m from Shin-Fukushima Station)

JR Fukushima Station: 9-minute walk

Hanshin Fukushima Station: 6-minute walk

Keihan Nakanoshima Station: 8-minute walk

Regular Holidays: Irregular holidays

Budget: Dinner: ¥6,000 - ¥7,999

Website: https://b3-shinfukushima-yakitori.jp/

Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b3_yakitori_shinfukushima/

About Mab Inc.

Name: Mab Inc.

Established: November 01, 2022

Headquarters: Megalo Corp Fukushima, 2-10-19 Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 553-0003

Tokyo Branch: FS Building 301, 3-6-2 Nakameguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0061

Representative: CEO Kenma Son

Website: https://mabinc.jp/