Food
Attention Steak Snobs: Chain Steakhouses Are Actually Great
For those who turn up their nose at steakhouse chains, know this: Several are changing their style, with well-sourced meat and innovative programs, such as frequent flier beef cards.
In December 2013, Ikinari Steak opened its first location in Tokyo’s busy Ginza neighborhood.
A little more than three years later, the Japanese stand-while-you-eat steakhouse is celebrating its 117 branch, which opened last week in New York City. It’s the chain's first restaurant outside Japan. (Not every chain has such good luck in that country: While Ikinari’s expansion exploded, McDonalds was busy closing stores.) In the U.S., a new study shows that U.S. restaurant traffic declined in 2016 for the first time since the recession.