Marugame Seimen
Japanese restaurant chain From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Marugame Seimen (丸亀製麺), also known as Marugame Udon outside of Japan, is a Japanese fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in udon. The chain is operated by Toridoll Holdings Corporation based in Kobe.[2]
| |
 A Marugame Seimen branch in Matsudo, Chiba, Japan | |
| Industry | Foodservice |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 1,006 |
Area served | Australia East Asia Southeast Asia United Kingdom United States Canada |
| Revenue | ¥89.9 billion (2019)[1] |
| ¥12.4 billion (2019)[1] | |
| Parent | Toridoll Holdings Corporation |
| Website | jp |
 | |
| TYO: 3397 | |
| Website | toridoll |
In April 2023 Toridoll agreed to buy Franco Manca and The Real Greek from Fulham Shore for £93.4m.[3]
Description
Marugame Seimen is one of the largest business formats owned by Toridoll Holdings Corporation since the 2000s.[4] The udon chain has become the first to have a location across all 47 prefectures across Japan in 2011.[5]
Changes in foreign locations
The name of the udon chain is changed to "MARUKAME" in foreign locations, to prevent foreigners from pronouncing "GAME" in the chain's original name "MARUGAME" as "game".[6] The name of "Bukkake udon" was forced to change its name to "BK udon", as the term "Bukkake" in English describes a sexual act.
Controversy over the brand name
Despite its name, the chain does not have a location in Marugame, Kagawa with the chain only having a single location in Kagawa Prefecture, where udon is famous for. The chain's name has been criticized by locals in Kagawa.[7] The chain's first store is located in Kakogawa, Hyōgo, which opened in 2000.[8]
Menu
The menu mostly consists of Sanuki udon, which are made in each location,[9] rice balls, Doughnut, and other toppings, such as Tempura.
Operation
As of June 2024, the chain has 786 locations across Japan.[10] The chain also has 271 operations outside Japan, including in the United States, the United Kingdom, the Philippines, Cambodia, Canada, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, China, and Hong Kong.[11]
Marugame Seimen closed all stores in South Korea in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic.[12]
On 31 March 2022, Marugame Seimen closed all three stores in Thailand.[13] They also closed all stores located in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, for some time the Russian locations continued operations as "Maru" under the local management before it was completely rebranded as "Udon Noodle Bar".[14]
Marugame Seimen opened its first Canadian store in Vancouver on 24 February 2024.[15]
References
External links
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