MK Restaurant Group Plc has opened its first multiple-brand restaurant centre in Bangkok at a cost of 300 million baht.
London Street, a food mall on a 1.8-rai plot next to Tesco Lotus on Phatthanakan Road, contains 2,500 square metres of space and is decorated in a chic London style.
It hosts five food brands under the MK Restaurant Group — MK Suki, Yayoi Japanese restaurant, Miyazaki Teppanyaki, Le Siam Thai restaurant and Le Petit cafe under one roof.
It offers parking for 75 cars and serves customers from 10am-9pm daily.
President and chief executive Rit Thirakomen called London Street another milestone for his group.
It not only sets the stage for the group's restaurant expansion in Thailand but also reinforces its vision of being a food restaurant chain expert, he said.
"London Street is our flagship food mall," Mr Rit said.
"We hope it will become an iconic dining venue for the new generation."
Kittaya Wannasuree, special project director overseeing operations in Japan, said the group expected 1,000 customers a day at London Street for monthly sales of 10 million baht. If the response is good, more food community projects will be planned.
She said apart from London Street, MK also plans to open about 20 new restaurants a year for each of its brands over the next three to five years.
As of the end of 2014, the company had 584 food outlets combined — 438 MK eateries, 130 Yayoi Japanese restaurants, 12 Miyazaki teppanyaki-style restaurants, three Le Siam restaurants and one Le Petit cafe.
It has set an ambitious goal of having 1,000 outlets by 2018 despite heavy competition from new restaurant chains.
Mr Rit said Japanese food was the fastest-growing food segment in Thailand. The 22-billion-baht market still has much room to grow, as the country has only about 1,000 Japanese restaurants.
MK Restaurant Group has also been expanding internationally over the past two years and now has 20 MK Restaurants in Japan, four in Vietnam, two in Singapore and one in Indonesia. The Japanese and Vietnamese branches are operated by franchisees.