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8 • R E S T A U R A N T D E V E L O P M E N T + D E S I G N • F A L L 2 0 1 4 BUZZ who's doing what New York-based restaurant group ESquared Hospitality took its BLT Steak brand to Tokyo in September. Opened with locally based partner Jinterji Co., Ltd., the 4,700-square-foot restaurant sits on the ffth foor of a 45-story mixed- used building, Izumi Garden Tower in the city's upscale Roppongi district. Keith Treyball, president and partner at ESquared, says Jinterji Co. owners had visited BLT Steak in Waikiki, Hawaii, several times and fell in love with the concept. "It's very popular with Japanese tourists there so we'd already established a name in Tokyo. With the 2020 Olympics being held in Tokyo and the Japanese government relaxing import regulations on American beef, it seemed perfect timing." The restaurant seats 175, including 80 in the main-level dining room and bar, an additional 30 in a mezzanine- level lounge/bar area and the balance in four private dining rooms. Located at the back of the main dining room, these rooms can be closed off for smaller groups or combined for groups of up to 20. Outdoor terrace seating on the mez- zanine level is available, as well. The rectangular dining room fea- tures curved banquettes and a partially exposed, glassed-in kitchen on one wall and large, tall windows covered in sheer white curtains on the other. As with ESquared's other international partner- ships, the design process was a collabora- tion and the Tokyo unit, while recognizable as a BLT Steak, has its own look and feel. "We send out specs for core items, like the tabletops, steakhouse chairs and banquette designs. From there, each unit has unique design elements," Treyball says. "In Tokyo, they did a beautiful in- laid design in the wood fooring and the overall feel is very clean and elegant." ESquared has grown from one fagship restaurant opened in New York City in 2004 to more than 10 brands and 28 restaurants worldwide, including 14 BLT Steak and BLT Prime locations. BLT Steak Tokyo is the company's sixth restaurant in Asia. Greene Turtle Continues Expansion, Signs New Jersey Development Deal The Greene Turtle restaurant and sports bar chain continues to broaden its footprint in the Northeast to include New Jersey. A group of investors with extensive QSR and petroleum distribution/retail experience has signed an agreement to develop 11 units in the Garden State. The franchisees, operating as Imperial Restaurant Group LLC, will focus their development efforts on the southern half of the state. The new development agreement complements a 10-unit agreement for New York's Long Island, signed in 2012. "We are thrilled to have secured a deal to bring The Greene Turtle to southern New Jersey, and equally excited about the franchise partners through whom we are doing it," says Tom Finn, vice president of franchise business for The Greene Turtle. "We plan to establish a strong presence throughout the Garden State." The Greene Turtle has developed design prototype options for freestand- ing buildings, conversions, endcaps, urban locations, airports and arenas. It currently has 37 locations open in New York, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Washington, D.C. In addition to Long Is- land and southern New Jerse y, the chain looks to expand into northern New Jersey and New York City, as well as New England, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. BLT Steak Opens in Tokyo