Torikizoku

Torikizoku
Native name
鳥貴族
TYO: 3193
IndustryRestaurant
Founded19 September 1986
FounderTadashi Okura
HeadquartersOsaka, Japan
Number of locations
725 (Torikizoku) 1,194 (Related companies included) (July 2026)
Area served
World
ProductsYakitori
ServicesIzakaya

Torikizoku (Japanese: 鳥貴族, lit. 'chicken aristocrat') is a Japanese izakaya chain established in 1985 by Tadashi Okura [ja], father of Tadayoshi Okura. As of 2026, there are 700 Torikizoku branches in the world. Torikizoku and its related companies are under the Eternal Hospitality Group.

Name

A red sigillary script of "鳥貴族" written on a yellow background, with a red text of "TORIKIZOKU∞" written on a white background strip
Logo of Torikizoku, with the text written in seal script

According to Tadashi Okura, the name "Torikizoku" originated from "chicken" (鳥, Tori) and "aristocrat" (貴族, Kizoku), aiming to treat customers like an aristocrat. He used the unique name to attract female customers, breaking an impression that izakaya bars are for the middle-aged and elderly people. The "∞" sign in the logo means "eternal service" (イターナルサービス). Tadashi denied the relationship between the sign and "Kanjani Eight" (関ジャニ∞(エイト)), the former name of his son's group currently known as Super Eight. The seal script style of "鳥貴族" has been used from its establishment.

Management

Torikizoku is known for its affordable price. Each dishes's price are the same. In 1985 of its establishment, the price was 280 yen. The most recent rising is 370 yen to 390 yen on 10 March 2025. According to Tadashi Okura, customers could benefited from the same price by keeping the budget and let them easier to find suitable combinations.

The chain focuses on Yakitori, grilled chicken on a skewer. All bars in Japan use domestic chicken. Mosty items are chicken dishes, while kept other skewer dishes to a minimum. Bars in Japan would also hire part-time staff to prepare meals in morning before they open at night. To reduce training cost, the chain also uses electric grill (instead of traditional charcoal grill), while introducing Kitchen Display System (KDS) to rise the speed of distributing food. Bars choose non-ground floors [ja], such as basement or second floor or above, to lower rents. The chain also retains the practice of otoshi , to reduce customers' surprise.

As of 2024, 6 in 10 Torikizoku bars are managed by the chain directly, while others are franchise stores. Tadashi Okura wish all his bars are directly managed to maintain quality. Started from 2010, Torikizoku only accepts franchising from the chain's staff or stores that have been franchised before 2010.

Histroy

Tadashi Okura established his first Torikizoku bar near Shuntokumichi Station in Higashiōsaka, Osaka, Japan, in September 1985, at his age of 25. It was initially near its bankruptcy once, but revived after adopting a fixed-price strategy, and the brand soon made a name for itself.In 1986, Okura established Eternal Services (株式会社イターナルサービス).

In 2005, Torikizoku opened its first bar in Tokyo. By this time, Torikizoku already had 65 bars in Osaka. By 2007, Torikizoku had 82 bars in Japan, with a turnover of 4.5 billion yen. In November 2010, Torikizoku relocated its head office from Sakuragawa [ja] to Tachiba [ja]. Torikizoku had 198 bars at the year. It later surpassed the 200 bars in 2011.

On 10 July 2014, Torikizoku made its initial public offering in JASDAQ. Issue price on the day was 6,180 yen. In 2015 and 2016, the company was listed on the Second Section and First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange respectively.

In April 2020, Torikizoku temporary closed 394 bars in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Torikizoku later announced that the company would be restructured into a holding company named "Torikizoku Holdings" (株式会社鳥貴族ホールディングス). On 22 September 2023, Torikizoku Holdings announced the compan to rename to "Eternal Hospitality Group" (エターナルホスピタリティグループ). it later gained approved at the shareholders' meeting in October

In June 2020, Torikizoku opened a pilot outlet called "Ōkura-ya", aimed at enabling staff to start their own businesses. In August 2021, Torikizoku Holdings opened a new chicken burger restaurant called "TORIKI BURGER". In 2022, Torikizoku acquired "Yakitori Daikichi" (やきとり大吉) from "Daikichi System" (ダイキチシステム).

Overseas market

Torikizoku announced its intention of opening oversea bars, including those in the United States. The chain established its first bar in Los Angeles, United States in April 2023. In 2024, Torikizoku established its first bar in Hong Kong with Four Seas Group [zh] in franchising model. In the same year, the chain established its first bar in Taipei, Taiwan with Dachan Food In 2025, first bar was established in Shanghai, China. First bar was established in Singapore and Hanoi, Vietnam in 2026.

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: お通し, a appetiser without obvious notify but still charges. It is a standard practice across Japanese izakaya.
  2. ↑ 公開価格

References

  1. 1 2 "会社概要". 株式会社 エターナルホスピタリティグループ (in Japanese). 2022-09-15.
  2. ↑ 株式会社エターナルホスピタリティグループ. "月次報告（2026年7月度）" (PDF). 株式会社エターナルホスピタリティグループ. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  3. ↑ 大倉忠司. "『「鳥貴族」店名の由来』". 鳥貴族 社長の焼鳥日記 !! (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  4. ↑ "【経済こぼれ話】関ジャニ∞の父は焼き鳥チェーンの社長「息子のグループより先いってますよ」". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  5. ↑ "鳥貴族1号店を再現「俊徳店」、営業を継続 ホイス･ハイボールをウリに". 外食ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 張方毓 (2024-09-25). "日本居酒屋霸主鳥貴族，海外首店在台灣！專訪創辦人　不用炭爐、不選一樓的祕訣". 天下雜誌. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  7. ↑ 江野澤暢男 (2025-03-10). "価格改定に関するお知らせ" (PDF). 株式会社鳥貴族. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  8. ↑ ryotarotakao (2015-04-13). "和民になりそうな鳥貴族の不安と期待". 食ビジネスのイノベーションへのヒント (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  9. ↑ "[ビジネス新伝説 ルソンの壺 【めざせ"非効率"な焼き鳥チェーン】 ]の番組概要ページ - gooテレビ番組（関西版）". gooテレビ番組 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  10. ↑ "What Is Otoshi in Japan? The Honest Guide to Izakaya Rules". 24hjourney.harumari.tokyo. Retrieved 10 November 2026.
  11. ↑ Oto, Wakaba (19 June 2025). "Otoshi Explained: Japan's "Compulsory" Appetizer". Tokyo Weekender. Retrieved 10 November 2026.
  12. ↑ 小林英介 (5 March 2023). "鳥貴族、北海道進出の狙い…地元の強者＝お通し無料「串鳥」に勝てるのか？". Business Journal. Retrieved 10 November 2026. 最初から最後まで好きなものを食べていただきたく、お通しを提供する代わりに数種類のスピードメニューを用意している。
  13. ↑ 大倉忠司. "『鳥貴族のFC加盟について』". 鳥貴族 社長の焼鳥日記 !! (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  14. 1 2 院去信太郎 (2014-07-10). "280円焼き鳥の鳥貴族がジャスダック上場、初値は公開比2.2倍". Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  15. ↑ 潘毅 (2024-02-26). "日本鳥貴族進軍台灣！大倉忠司花38年創居酒屋帝國 兒身分超驚人". NOWnews今日新聞 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  16. ↑ 孫蓉萍 (2024-09-26). "日本鳥貴族登台！社長大倉忠司自認帥度不輸「傑尼斯」 兒子身份驚人". www.wealth.com.tw. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  17. ↑ 安田正明 (2007-06-22). "２８０円均一の「鳥貴族」、日本一の焼き鳥チェーンを作る。　株式会社イターナルサービス　代表取締役　大倉忠司". FDN フードリンクニュース. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  18. ↑ "鳥貴族、２０１６年１０００店体制を目指して、本社を移転。【スナップショット】". FDN フードリンクニュース. 2010-11-25. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  19. 1 2 "鳥貴族HD、2024年5月に「エターナルホスピタリティグループ」に社名変更へ ｜ M&Aトピックス｜東京フィナンシャル・アドバイザーズ". M＆A Online. 2023-09-22. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  20. ↑ "社長は関ジャニ∞大倉さん父…「鳥貴族」が東証２部くら替え 低価格で好調、出店増". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  21. ↑ ロイター (2020-04-02). "鳥貴族･串カツ田中、全直営店を4─12日に臨時休業 外出自粛要請で". ニューズウィーク日本版 オフィシャルサイト (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  22. 1 2 "鳥貴族、21年2月に持ち株会社へ". 日本経済新聞 (in Japanese). 2020-06-05. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  23. 1 2 "Torikizoku Holdings Co.,Ltd". MoneyDJ理財網. 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  24. ↑ "鳥貴族HDが社名変更 「エターナルホスピタリティグループ」に：朝日新聞". 朝日新聞 (in Japanese). 2023-09-22. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  25. ↑ "創業35周年記念 小規模業態「鳥貴族 大倉家」が大阪市旭区に6/1グランドオープン". 関西エリアの飲食店・レストラン“トレンド”を毎日配信するフードビジネスニュースサイト「フードスタジアム 関西」 (in Japanese). 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  26. ↑ "鳥貴族のチキンバーガー専門店 「TORIKI BURGER」1号店オープン". J-CAST トレンド (in Japanese). 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  27. ↑ "「やきとり大吉」を鳥貴族が買収…サントリーから全株式取得し５００店舗のブランド継続". 読売新聞 (in Japanese). 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  28. ↑ "鳥貴族、「やきとり大吉」買収　サントリー傘下、店舗網倍増：時事ドットコム". 時事ドットコム (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2022-09-13. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  29. ↑ Hernon, Matthew (2024-02-28). "Yakitori Chain Torikizoku is Going Global". Tokyo Weekender. Retrieved 2026-08-19. Torikizoku also announced on Monday that it is preparing to open directly managed stores in the US. It established a subsidiary in Los Angeles in April 2023. The plan had been to open its first overseas outlet there by July 2022, but that was held back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  30. 1 2 Speed, Jessica (2024-02-27). "Restaurant chain Torikizoku to open branches in Taiwan and Hong Kong". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  31. ↑ 平川凌 (2024-05-03). "鳥貴族、エターナルホスピタリティグループに社名変更 本格的に海外進出へ". NewsPicks (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  32. ↑ "日本連鎖居酒屋鳥貴族夥四洲集團進軍香港". on.cc東網 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2024-02-26. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  33. ↑ DD (2024-11-27). "鳥貴族香港分店選址屯門12月開幕！日本平價雞串燒連鎖店$19起". GOtrip.hk (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  34. ↑ 何秀玲 (2024-03-04). "大成引進「鳥貴族」進軍居酒屋 首店第3季開在台北". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  35. ↑ 林冠伶; 邱家琳. "【完整菜單價格】日本平價居酒屋「鳥貴族」台灣旗艦店開幕！串燒均一價 100 元 營業時間、必吃推薦一次看". 上報 (in Chinese). Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  36. ↑ "日本居酒屋「鳥貴族」開中國大陸首店,全品18元 日經中文網". zh.cn.nikkei.com. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  37. ↑ Cherie, Lok (2026-05-30). "$3.90 yakitori and viral cheesecakes: Five new Japanese food brands in Singapore". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2026-08-19.
  38. ↑ "燒鳥居酒屋連鎖「鳥貴族」在越南開設首家門店". 共同網 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2026-04-05. Retrieved 2026-08-19.