How Do You Roll? Franchise Finds Perfect Niche in Fast Casual Sushi Segment

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Aggressively Expanding Sushi Concept Eyes Major Expansion

March 16, 2010 // Franchising.com // Austin, TX - The options for sushi in today's world usually lie at one end of the spectrum or the other. You can get high-end, pretentious sushi that requires a long, sit down meal or the stuff from your local grocery store with rock hard rice that probably has been sitting in a cooler for hours.

Recognizing the gaping hole in the sushi category, How Do You Roll? is seizing the opportunity and demand for high quality sushi at a reasonable price for people on the go.

How Do You Roll? quickly allows customers to customize their sushi roll to exactly their preference. Customers choose between a traditional seaweed wrap or soy wrap, then choose up to three vegetables, then one or more of the fresh meats and seafood and top it off with one of the specialty sauces and/or toppings. The whole process is completed in an average of three minutes or less.

While many compare the line process to fast casual giants such as Chipotle or Subway, How Do You Roll? differentiates themselves by the use of their proprietary maki machines. These machines allow employees to create the sushi rolls quickly when a special rice mixer is used to prepare the rice while another maki machine presses the rice into its sushi-roll formation. A third machine then neatly cuts the roll into 10 pieces ready to be enjoyed.

How Do You Roll? was founded after Yuen Yung, a certified public financial planner with a B.S. in business administration, wanted high quality sushi for lunch, but had no time to go to a sit down restaurant. Yuen's brother, Peter, was a sushi chef at the time and the two combined to open the first How Do You Roll? restaurant in Austin.

"Our goal with expanding How Do You Roll? is to provide people across the country with the opportunity to enjoy a quality sushi product that they can enjoy on the go," said Yuen Yung, CEO of How Do You Roll?. "We offer an authentic sushi product but also have added a delicious twist by offering chicken or beef on top of traditional fillings such as crab, shrimp, salmon, tuna and more."

In addition to the premium sushi offerings, How Do You Roll? offers authentic side items such as seaweed, cucumber or calamari salads, edamame and miso soup. Drink offerings include sake, soft drinks, beer, wine and ramune soda, originally sold in Japan. How Do You Roll? also offers Mochi ice cream for dessert in mango, green tea, mint chocolate and white chocolate raspberry flavors. Mochi ice cream is a Japanese confection made from mochi (decimated sticky rice) with an ice cream filling.

The décor in How Do You Roll? greets customers with a modern and bright atmosphere featuring colors such as lime green, bright orange and browns. Combined with modern curves and sharp lines, the restaurant offers customers a taste of the Japanese culture.

The expansion plans for How Do You Roll? call for 10-15 locations in 2010 and 25 locations every year thereafter. Major growth is expected in Texas and California but the company is looking to expand in numerous other states as well, including Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and others. As soon as the Yung brothers decided to franchise the popular fast casual sushi concept, many were waiting.

"The beauty of our How Do You Roll? concept is that it can be successful anywhere in the country. The demand for sushi is stronger than ever, but so too is the demand for time saving meals. We provide both and have been extremely successful in Austin with those demands in mind. We look forward to aggressive, strategic growth with a concept that is extremely popular."

With the nationwide demand for sushi at an all time high and the unique fast casual spin on the sushi industry, How Do You Roll? has become an extremely attractive franchise opportunity. Opening costs for a How Do You Roll? franchise are between $360,000 and $560,000.

ABOUT HOW DO YOU ROLL?

How Do You Roll?, an aggressively expanding fast casual sushi franchise based in Austin, TX, is expecting more than 10 locations open by the end of 2010. The franchise concept offers high quality sushi at a reasonable price and is made within minutes using proprietary maki machines as the customer customizes exactly what they want. How Do You Roll? also offers authentic side items and a traditional Japanese dessert.

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