YURI KAGEYAMA/The Associated Press | Posted: Friday, September 8, 2006 7:00 pm
TOKYO — The Japanese fast-food chain that made its fame on a rice dish topped with American beef said the “beef bowl” will return Sept. 18 after a two-year hiatus caused by a mad-cow scare.
But Yoshinoya D&C Co. will have just 1 million servings, which are likely to sell out before the day is over, said the company’s president, Shuji Abe.
The chain, which operates about 1,000 restaurants nationwide, won’t be able to regularly offer its famous “gyudon,” as it can’t procure a sufficient supply of American beef because of Tokyo’s decision to only beef only from allow cattle aged 20 months or younger in lifting its ban on U.S. imports.
Yoshinoya said it will offer 1 million servings a day for the first five days in October, and similarly for Nov. 1-5.
Although some kinds of Australian beef can produce the flavor and texture needed for the Yoshinoya beef bowl, American beef is best and had been available in the past in enough quantity because of large-scale U.S. production, said Yoshinoya spokesman Yasunori Yoshimura.
“We are in a bit of a bind,” he said. “But serving the American beef bowl even on a limited basis will be a definite plus for our business.”
Another reason for gyudon’s popularity was its affordable price, 280 yen, or $2.40. The beef bowl arriving later this month will sell for 380 yen, $3.30.
The supply of American beef is so tight, Yoshinoya will be also using Mexican and Australian beef, Abe said.
Japanese beef is much more expensive than American beef. Top-grade Japanese cows are fed beer and pampered with massages to produce fat-laden meat savored as a delicacy for traditional dishes like sukiyaki — beef and vegetables in a broth.
Abe has long been one of the most outspoken critics of Japan’s beef ban, saying that American beef is safe. But he denied he had any complaints against the authorities and was just happy bringing back the beef bowl.
“I’m filled with joy now about being able to make it and offer it,” he told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.
Left without its prized dish, Yoshinoya earnings were battered by the beef ban, sinking into the red in fiscal 2004 and fiscal 2005. It is forecasting a return to profit for the current fiscal year.
In July, Japan lifted a ban it had imposed on American beef in December 2003 due to mad cow concerns. Before that, Japan was a top destination for U.S. beef, importing $1.4 billion worth a year, including $300 million worth from Nebraska.
But public opinion surveys show many Japanese choose to shun American beef and remain worried about mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a degenerative nerve disease in cattle.
Last month, Zenshoku Co., a barbecue-beef restaurant, became the first eatery chain in Japan to serve American beef since the easing of the ban in July, by offering American beef at 57 of its outlets.
As a larger chain requiring more stocks of beef, Yoshinoya has taken longer to start serving beef bowls.