Global Dining, Inc.: Tokyo Comes to Beverly Hills

Global Dining, Inc. is a multi-million dollar Japanese restaurant management company with 4 major brand names and 3 fine dining restaurants for a total of 47 restaurants in Japan and the U.S. The company wanted to bring their Gonpachi concept, a premier contemporary Japanese restaurant in Japan, to Southern California. Global Dining, Inc. President and CEO Kozo Hasagawa turned to Ira Spilky & Associates to perform a site search for a restaurant real estate purchase and to help create a detailed development plan.

Finding the Perfect Location

Ira began by studying the Gonpachi business model, familiarizing himself with their branding, customer demographics, menu, restaurant size and more, to develop a set of site location criteria. Global Dining's overall business plan, including a desire for continued growth in the U.S., called for a real estate purchase for their new restaurant, rather than a leasehold arrangement.

Once Ira fully understood Global Dining's requirements, he began an exhaustive site search, drawing on his extensive industry network to identify likely locations. Over a period of months, Ira took Mr. Hasagawa on several site tours, until Ira found the site entirely suitable to the Gonpachi criteria: a restaurant with land for sale, on Restaurant Row, La Cienega Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Even better for Global's purposes, the location was directly next to Lawry's, a steak restaurant enormously popular with Japanese tourists.

Creating the Win-Win Situation

Next, Ira represented Global Dining during the two-month purchase negotiations. The seller was a Chicago-based restaurateur withdrawing from the Southern California market. It was, in fact, the seller's representative, realty giant CB Richard Ellis, who had approached Ira with the property. Because of Ira's reputation as a consummate professional who works only with qualified clients, he is regularly offered prime restaurant/entertainment properties. By bringing together this buyer and seller in an arrangement beneficial to all parties, Ira created a profitable Win-Win situation for all.

Assembling a Development Team for Success

Once the agreement had been finalized, Ira took on a management consultant role for Global. Once again making use of his extensive industry knowledge, Ira began designing a marketing plan and assembling a development team, including an architect, kitchen designers, and general contractors for the redesign, as well as a restaurant public relations specialist.

At the same time, Ira helped Mr. Hasagawa begin his integration into the Beverly Hills business community, introducing the restaurateur to the city's mayor and several city council members. With the development team assembled by Ira operating smoothly, restaurant construction is now moving full speed ahead, and Gonpachi Beverly Hills scheduled to open in the fall of 2004.


Ira Spilky & Associates tel: 310-558-3241 fax: 310-202-1173 2566 Overland Avenue, Suite 660, Los Angeles, CA 90064