The Bistro Group said it will open its first franchised restaurant, a Watami at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, in October 2025.
The Japanese casual dining restaurant is the first to be sub-franchised by The Bistro Group. The 80-seat restaurant will be Watami’s 23rd branch. It will offer a range of authentic Japanese dishes, including sushi, shrimp tempura, ramen and skewers.
In a statement, Rommel Turbanos, The Bistro Group’s vice president for business development and franchising, said the company is offering sub-franchising to give investors a chance to partner with established restaurant brands.
“Serving good food, creating wonderful memories for our guests, and building success is what The Bistro Group is all about,” he said. “We offer businessmen this exciting opportunity to own a sub-franchise of tried-and-tested, reputable, and profitable brands.”
The Bistro Group, which has more than 200 stores nationwide, has been in the Philippine food and beverage industry for 30 years. It currently operates 28 restaurant concepts, including American restaurants TGIFriday’s, Italianni’s, Denny’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Morton’s The Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, Randy’s Donuts, Olive Garden, Hard Rock Café, El Pollo Loco, LongHorn Steakhouse, and the recently launched Fogo de Chao and Dave & Buster’s.
It also has Asian restaurants Watami, Modern Shang, Red Lotus, Bulgogi Brothers, Secret Recipe, and Fish & Co. and Spanish restaurants Las Flores, Tomatito, Rambla, and Rumba.
Its Filipino restaurants are Krazy Garlik and Siklab+, while the Bistro Elite restaurants include Helm, Ember, Savage and The Test Kitchen.
The company said it plans to offer sub-franchising for several of its concepts, including TGIFriday’s, Italianni’s, El Pollo Loco, Bulgogi Brothers, Modern Shang, Red Lotus, Krazy Garlik, and Siklab+.
