Is Japan’s Marugame Udon biting off more than it can chew with US noodle push?

The challenge is scaling up the business and finding a way to win over consumers who are unfamiliar with a staple of no-frills Japanese cuisine. Unlike the better-known, thinner and yellowish ramen noodles typically served up in a seasoned bouillon, udon are thick, chewy white noodles that swim in a much simpler broth.

Toridoll already has Marugame outlets in several countries, including Canada and the UK, and a beachhead in the US with a couple of dozen locations on the West Coast. All told, Toridoll operates almost 2,100 restaurants, more than 40 per cent of which are outside Japan.

Other fast-food purveyors based in Japan have tried to crack the lucrative American market, but have faced significant obstacles. Casual chic rice-burger chain MOS Burger tried and failed, as did ramen noodle chain Dosanko. Beef bowl vendor Yoshinoya, which first came to the US in 1975, radically downsized in the early 1980s before rebuilding.