Benihana is a unique Japanese restaurant concept that delivers freshly

prepared food to customer from individual kitchens located at each table.

Benihana only uses fresh ingredients, and as such storage is reduced in
comparison to other restaurants. Only 22% (which encompasses all non-
dining space) of Benihana restaurants is used for storage in comparison to
30% in normal restaurants. Therefore the production flow is very short, and is
limited to the food being moved from refrigerator rooms to the tables.
Inventories are negligible and consist of predominantly fresh ingredients. The
menu is limited to 3 simple entrees chicken, shrimp and beef. This limited
menu enables fast table turnover due to and eliminated any inefficiencies
related to food and info transfers. Customers are held in a large dining area
at a teppanyaki table where the cooking is done in from of them. Each table
can accommodate eight diners, with service being provided by a chef and a
waitress. Customers could also be seated at the bar should they choose
the concept of the restaurants cuts out delays in the traditional restaurant
kitchens therefore there is a high customers per table turnover which in
turn minimizes the flows, in addition it reduces food storage ( WIP) and food
waste , minimizes bottleneck in the kitchen as in the traditional restaurants
reducing throughput time without sacrificing the customer service experience
Restaurant Flow
Supplier refrigerated storage
Customer flow
refrigerated storage waiter customer chef
Service flow front end
Customer arrives Customer seating(8) menu order
soup/salad/beverages

greeting/waiting/ Lounge seating ordering drinks drinks served

back end preparation cooking and performance customer eats

check
payment customer leaves clean tables

What are the key ingredients in Benihana's successful recipe? How does Benihana
achieve these numbers?
 Simple menu
Food prepared at the table
Japanese culture ambiance
Simple highly trained management
Low food waste and low WIP
Location, location, location
Faster service than traditional restaurants
Targets a middle-income audience . reasonable price for quality
reputation

Examine the design of the system and the impact that communal dining has on the
possible design alternatives.