Japanese fast-food chain Edo Japan has opened in Newmarket as part of the company's rapid national expansion.
Edo is a quick service restaurant that offers Japanese cuisine, including a selection of sushi, soups, bento boxes, noodle and rice dishes made with its renowned teriyaki sauce.
"It's an opportunity just to grab something and have a full meal because life is busy these days. Everybody's got to go somewhere and do something, so it gives an option versus the traditional quick service restaurants out there," said Terry Foster, vice-president of operations at Edo.
The company was founded in Calgary more than 40 years ago and used to be in malls throughout Canada, but eventually scaled that back. However, it remained popular out West.
"Our growth in Alberta and Western Canada has been so strong, like amazing. So we have such a high demand from our customers here that it only made sense to obviously continue to grow across Canada," Foster added.
Part of that expansion includes the newly opened location on Yonge Street in Newmarket, near Walmart.
"Newmarket is thriving and a diverse town with a great quality of life," Foster said. "This fits with Edo Japan's community-minded approach to servicing or serving quality food to our neighbours. We do a lot of research to ensure we're a good fit for the community and we're happy to be settling in and meeting as many locals as we can."
He added that feedback has been very positive. The restaurant has especially become a popular choice for local high school students who come on their lunch hour from nearby Dr. J.M. Denison Secondary School.
Edo in Newmarket has also been connecting with other local businesses. The franchisees have been contacting other businesses in the area to deliver them meals and just get to know each other.
"We want to get out to meet the community and introduce ourselves, make sure that they know that we're here as another option to service them when they're looking for that alternative meal or when their lives are busy and you know that they're on the go," Foster said.
Giving back to the community is a part of Edo's philosophy. Typically, he said, franchise owners get involved with local sports teams and participate in other community activities.
The company also supports food banks across Canada. Since 2010, it has given a total of $780,000 to local food banks.
Edo is continuing to expand, with 179 locations across Canada and Foster said they plan to have 195 by the end of the year.
