Subarashii Food Corp. eyes new locations

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Manmaru Japanese Izakaya may eventually set up more branches in the future, according to Kristopher Yang, president of Subarashii Food Corp., which has secured a franchise for the Osaka-based food chain established by Eat Factory Holdings Co. Ltd.

In an interview with Business Snippets, Kris clarified that Subarashii is the official franchise holder of Manmaru Japanese Izakaya and is separate from the Yang family’s more well-known fast-food chain franchise.

In my column Monday, I had credited ownership of the franchise of the Japanese chain restaurant to his elder brother Kenneth, who handles the Yang family’s McDonald’s franchise under the family-owned Golden Arches Development Corp.

Kris, who is the third son of George Yang, explained that it was he who actually first discovered and patronized Manmaru at Makati Cinema Square, where it started way back in 2019. It was thus Kris’ idea to venture into Japanese cuisine and diversify from the family’s legacy burgers, chicken and fries franchise.

He explained that he had eaten at Manmaru several times and personally knew the landlords, who are the Prieto family, of the restaurant. In fact, he said, it was the Prietos who actually introduced him to the Japanese restaurant operator.

Kris spearheaded the move for Subarashii to secure a franchise from the Japanese owner who had the master franchise for Manmaru in the Philippines.

In partnership with the Japanese, Subarashii was able to open its first Manmaru restaurant outlet in Quezon City in October 2024 and subsequently a second restaurant in BF Homes, Parañaque, that opened just last November 2025.

Kris also clarified that negotiations for the takeover and consolidation of the original restaurant franchise at Makati Cinema Square, which is currently operated by a Japanese partner that holds the master franchise, have not been completed and talks could take up to May this year.

According to Kris, “The Makati branch, we are targeting to take over the operations in May. So that’s a floating date. It is not yet final because we’re still working out some of the details ... you know, the lease and we plan to do a renovation of the branch. So, as of now, the branch is still operated by the franchisor, the Japanese.”

He added that certain issues involving the lease agreement with the management of Makati Cinema Square still have to be worked out and agreed upon, as Subarashii intends to undertake some renovations.

According to Kris, they plan to renovate the original Manmaru in Makati Cinema Square, which has been there since 2019. “The store is, I believe, at least six or seven years old already ... Yes, since 2019. There’s certainly a need to refresh it ... it certainly warrants refreshing, and so we plan to refresh some of the equipment. We plan to make the design of it better in terms of the kitchen layout and all of the seating layouts, including the ventilation. So we will expect, hopefully, a better dining experience.”

He assured that they would want to remain at Makati Cinema Square, pointing out that “we will obviously have to talk to the landlord, but we will be, you know, taking over the lead and everything, but we do intend to stay there.”

As for future plans for growing the Japanese restaurant chain, Kris admitted that, “We’re looking at various locations now. We have specific requirements to fit our model. You know, we usually don’t go inside malls. We like sites with parking, we like sites in specific neighborhoods.”

He further divulged, “I think we’re looking at some sites in Marikina now. We like middle-class neighborhoods ... but there’s a lot of potential, you know – Manila, Ortigas and BGC.”

According to Kris, the investment cost of putting up a new branch would be around $1 million. “The investment for one branch, a significant branch, would be in the region of $1 million ... something like that.”

At the moment, though, he said, “We’re just focused on the Makati renovation now and takeover, and then pick it up from there.”

He chose not to elaborate further on how they plan to grow the Manmaru franchise. Instead, he said, “we have not decided on a specific program or franchising program for other people to invest. But there are people who have approached us on that, but I think the priority for us is to control the operation so that we can maintain the quality.”

Kris admitted that the Manmaru investment has been profitable. “We’re very happy with the business so far. It is certainly profitable. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be expanding. I’m not sure of the numbers. I’ll have to check the exact numbers, but you know, it’s profitable enough that we’re confident in expanding. We’re not in the business to just open one or two stores ... we’re in this for the long haul. This is something I’m focused on.”

Kris assured further that “we’re very familiar with the food business ... We believe that it is one of the businesses that has great potential given the demographics of the country and the emerging middle class.”

With the current global turmoil arising from the three-week-old Middle East conflict that still shows no sign of a resolution and is already beginning to impact global oil markets and cause ripples in terms of consumer prices, Kris pointed out that they have not yet increased their prices and would try “to keep the prices for as long as we can. Obviously, at some point, if the crisis lasts, then I guess ... but we always keep our consumers in mind and so price is one of those things ... with regards to pricing, we work very closely together with the franchise owner.”