By MASAKI HASHIDA/ Staff Writer
May 20, 2025 at 07:00 JST
Watami Co. Chairman and President Miki Watanabe serves coffee for customers at a new Subway outlet in Yokohama's Naka Ward on April 10. (Masaki Hashida)
YOKOHAMA--Major "izakaya" Japanese-style pub chain operator Watami Co. has opened a Subway outlet in the city's Naka Ward, with a fresh menu twist for the iconic U.S. sandwich chain in Japan.
The Naka Ward shop offers new menu items adapted from popular dishes served at Watami's izakaya and “yakiniku” grilled beef restaurants.
The operator also improved the quality of the sandwich chain's coffee to make it pair well with sandwiches.
Watami acquired the Japanese arm of Subway last year.
At the Naka Ward shop, the vividly colored interior is equipped with power outlets and Wi-Fi to make the restaurant a comfortable and convenient establishment for customers.
"Subway's sales at its existing outlets continued to increase year on year for 54 straight months, and we feel confident (about the business)," Watami Chairman and President Miki Watanabe said during a news conference held in Yokohama on April 10. "We want to make it a part of the lives of Japanese people by capturing the demand for breakfast and dinner items and catering to children."
Watami plans to open 35 outlets in the current business year ending in March 2026 to bring the total number of Subway restaurants in Japan to 215.
The company intends to operate more than 1,000 outlets in the business year ending in March 2035 and expand that number to 3,000 in the future, it added.
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