A Fast-Growing Sushi Chain Announces Plans for Explosive Growth
More than a decade after one of the world's premier conveyor belt sushi chains first arrived in the United States, it's gearing up for its most significant year of growth yet.
Kura Revolving Sushi Bar—which offers pay-by-the-plate sushi alongside a selection of noodle dishes, sides, and desserts—just announced plans to open 13 to 14 new restaurants in America for the 2024 fiscal year. Per FSR Magazine, that would be Kura's highest rate of annual openings in the United States since it debuted its first restaurant here in 2009.
Kura has already been making significant progress on these ambitious growth goals. In its first fiscal quarter of 2024 which ended on Nov. 30 last year (Kura's fiscal calendar doesn't line up exactly with the calendar year), the chain opened four new restaurants in Pittsburgh; Flushing, N.Y.; Tampa, Fla.; and Naperville, Ill.
It followed that up in the second quarter with five additional openings in Kansas City, Miss.; Skokie, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio; Euless, Texas; and Webster, Texas. Since the end of the second quarter, Kura has also debuted a new location in Orlando, Fla.
That totals 10 new Kura restaurants since the start of the year. The chain currently boasts 60 locations across 17 states and Washington, D.C.
Kura's rapid expansion plans are backed up by solid financial results. The chain has seen 12 consecutive quarters of positive customer traffic, FSR Magazine reported, and it recorded a 3% jump in same-store sales in the most recent quarter.
Looking ahead, Kura has no plans of slowing down its growth momentum. It expects to grow by at least 20% annually over the next several years, per FSR Magazine. And this year, Kura's major growth plans will see it expand at a roughly 26% to 28% rate.
"That's what we've been doing. That's what we expect to do. Our organization has demonstrated that it's more than capable of meeting that challenge year after year, and we're excited to keep delivering on that," CEO Hajime "Jimmy" Uba said during an April 4 earnings call.
Kura Revolving Sushi Bar isn't the only popular restaurant brand that's growing at a rapid clip this year. Earlier this week, the quick-service chicken chain Krispy Krunchy Chicken announced plans to open 700 new locations in 2024 after seeing record-breaking growth in 2023. Meanwhile, Wingstop expects to open 270 net new restaurants globally throughout this year after opening 255 net new locations in 2023.
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