Royal Holdings to Open 1st U.S. Sushi Restaurant in Calif., to be Launched in Sojitz, Choushimaru Joint Venture

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:18 JST, December 27, 2025

Royal Holdings Co., a major Japanese restaurant operator, announced Friday that it will open its first U.S. restaurant on Tuesday in California, launching a dining concept centered on sushi. The company is aiming to expand earnings in the United States, where the market is large and Japanese food remains highly popular.

The new outlet will be operated by a joint venture formed by Royal Holdings, the trading house Sojitz Corp., and sushi chain Choushimaru Co., under the name Sushi Nigiriba. The first location will open in Huntington Beach, a tourist-heavy area, and a second store is scheduled to open in another part of the state in January.

Both locations will have 24 seats. The companies expect average spending per customer of about $45 to $50 (roughly ¥7,000 to ¥7,800).

This marks Royal Holdings’ first attempt — either in Japan or overseas — to open a restaurant focused primarily on sushi. By combining Choushimaru’s knowledge on operating sushi restaurants with Sojitz’s business development capabilities, the partners hope to capture demand in the U.S. market, which can be difficult for a single company. Other Japanese sushi operators, including conveyor-belt sushi chain Kura Sushi Inc., have also expanded in the United States.