AP Holdings Launches Licensed Yakitori Business: New 'Yakitori Sora' Opens in Kanamachi, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo

AP Holdings Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, Chairman and President: Hisashi Yoneyama; hereinafter 'the Company') will open a charcoal-grilled yakitori specialty restaurant, 'Yakitori Sora,' in Kanamachi, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, as a new licensed expansion of its yakitori production business.

Inheriting the worldview of a 'yakitori specialty store rooted in a residential area and loved by the community' cultivated at the Company's directly managed stores, 'Yakitori Koori' in Noborito, Tokyo, and 'Yakitori Suzuki' in Hashimoto, Kanagawa, we look forward to this new development of individually operated yakitori stores in collaboration with local owners.

Background of the Licensed Business Expansion

In recent years, the food and beverage industry has faced challenges in achieving sustainable growth through traditional chain expansion models alone, due to factors such as labor shortages, soaring raw material prices, and rising store opening costs. On the other hand, there is growing support for community-based independent stores and a rising demand for food experiences that offer transparency in production backgrounds.

The licensed business promoted by the Company is a new store development model that responds to these changes in the market environment.

Centered on the brand power and operations cultivated through its directly managed businesses, and its unique sixth-industrialization business model called 'Direct Production-Sales Connection,' which handles everything from food production (primary industry) to distribution (secondary industry) and sales (tertiary industry), the Company aims to create 'a store that will be loved for a long time in that town' by combining this with the local owners' understanding of the community and their connections within it.

The store name 'Sora' is derived from the owner's son's name.

It embodies the owner's desire to 'create a way of food that can be proudly passed on to the next generation, starting from this store.'

The chickens raised by producers are transported, prepared, skewered, grilled over charcoal, and finally served to customers. The store is the final place that receives this baton of intention and hands it to the customer. The owner decided to join this franchise based on a shared understanding of the Company's brand philosophy.

Aiming for 'a store the locals can be proud of' in the town of Kanamachi

Kanamachi in Katsushika-ku, the location of the new store, is a town where, while redevelopment progresses, the human connections and warmth of daily life characteristic of the old downtown area still thrive. While offering the convenience of access to the JR Joban Line, Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, and Keisei Kanamachi Line, it is an area with strong demand for everyday dining and high affinity for community-based stores.

Located in a residential area a short distance from the hustle and bustle of the station, 'Yakitori Sora' aims to become a 'local perch' that accommodates various life scenes, from a drink after work to a couple's dinner or a family celebration.

~ The Owner's Thoughts ~

'We, the grillers, bear the responsibility of delivering the chicken raised by the producer to the customer at the very end.

We don't just grill. We determine the perfect heat, salt level, and timing for the chicken to be most delicious, completing it as a single skewer.

We want to create a place where the people living in Kanamachi can feel a little pride in their town. We aim to be a place where people naturally stop by, whether it's because 'something good happened today' or just 'I felt like dropping in.'

The concept of 'Yakitori Sora' is 'a little luxury right next to everyday life.'

We offer value in the very time spent focusing on a single skewer of yakitori in a calm space lit by indirect lighting, at a counter where you can watch the craftsman's hands up close, while feeling the sound and aroma of the charcoal fire.

The Company will continue to promote its licensed business, which combines the brand value cultivated through its directly managed stores with the individuality of local owners, balancing the reliability of a chain with the warmth of an independent store, and will create 'stores that the people of that town can be proud of' in various locations.

[Store Overview]
Store Name: Yakitori Sora
Opening Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Location: Green Heights Kanamachi 101, 1-39-1 Higashikanamachi, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo
Business Type: Charcoal-grilled yakitori specialty store
Number of Seats: 24
Business Hours: Monday-Thursday 17:00-23:00 / Saturdays, Sundays, Holidays 16:00-23:00 (Last Order 22:30)
Regular Holiday: Tuesdays
Average Customer Spend: 5,500 yen

Reservations: https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1324/A132403/13322127/

With the mission of 'pursuing the ideal state of food,' the Company operates over 40 diverse restaurant brands both domestically and internationally, including izakaya formats like Tsukada Farm, as well as specialty formats such as 48 Fishery, Shibaura Meat, sushi, yakitori, hotpot, and shabu-shabu.

In addition to restaurants, the Company also operates the 'Tsukada Farm Plus' ready-to-eat food business, as well as poultry and fresh fish processing and distribution businesses.

In the world of the 'food industry' encompassing producers, sellers, and consumers, the Company aims for 'ALL-WIN' for everyone involved.

Company Overview

Company Name: AP Holdings Co., Ltd.

Website: https://ap-holdings.jp/

Date of Establishment: October 29, 2001

Representative Director, Chairman and President: Hisashi Yoneyama

Business Activities:

- Management of restaurants and food sales stores, recruitment and guidance of franchise chain store members
- Management of poultry farms and ranches
- Fishery operations
- Agriculture
- Processing, processing, and sale of poultry
- Processing, distribution, import/export, and sale of food products

Head Office Location: ISO Building 5F, 1-10-1 Nishiikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo 171-0021

[Contact for this Press Release]

AP Holdings Co., Ltd. Public Relations

Email: pr@ap-holdings.jp

Tel: 070-3199-7973