A much-anticipated, popular Japanese curry restaurant chain, Coco Ichibanya, opened its doors in Frisco this week, drawing a line out the door for its soft opening on Sept. 5, its owner said.
The restaurant, which specializes in curry rice, dumplings and omelets, represents the chain’s seventh location in the mainland United States and its first in Texas. The other U.S. stores are located in Southern California and Hawaii.
For the past few years, Dallas-Fort Worth residents have been awaiting the opening of Coco Ichibanya ever since the restaurant announced plans to open in June 2021. Construction and logistical issues delayed the store’s opening by about a year, but that did not wane any enthusiasm for the store’s arrival.
During its soft opening, owner of the franchise Michael Clark said that despite not advertising the restaurant’s opening date, the establishment still saw a significant lunch and dinner rush.
So far, the dish ordered by customers the most is the pork cutlet curry, which is also considered the most popular among Japanese customers. However, at the store’s other U.S. locations, the chicken cutlet curry is typically preferred, Clark noted.
“I don’t know if that’s because we had a lot of folks that lived in Japan or the Marines, airmen, sailors, soldiers that served in Japan, especially Okinawa, that came by, so maybe they were more experienced with the pork cutlet,” he said.
In addition to the pork and chicken cutlet curries, the menu boasts a variety of different meats, including seafood and beef, along with several vegetarian curries, including mushroom, okra, tofu and spinach.
The restaurant is also known for how customizable its food options are, meaning you can choose your curry base, rice portion, spice level and toppings.
History of the store
Coco Ichibanya, which literally means “number one store” in Japanese, opened in 1978 on the outskirts of Nagoya, Japan, as a small cafe operated by a couple. The country is now home to more than 1,300 restaurants.
Moreover, the store’s growing popularity in Japan and now the U.S. speaks to a larger trend of curry dishes taking over the Japanese food scene, previously dominated by sushi and ramen, in recent years.
“You find ramen, you find sushi and all kinds of other locations here in Dallas-Fort Worth,” Clark said. “You just don’t find a lot of dedicated curry restaurants, so it’s definitely going to be a growing market here.”
Coco Ichibanya is located at 9351 Warren Parkway, Ste. 125, Frisco. ichibanyausa.com.
