CT restaurant group expands its reach. Goal is to serve good food while helping the community.
The Meraki Restaurant Group, founded by Connecticut husband and wife Ken Schanke and Audrey Poynton, is widening its portfolio with another restaurant opening this week.
The Somers couple is set to open the doors at Teriyaki Madness, a fast-casual Asian restaurant concept, on Prospect Avenue in West Hartford on Friday.
'I love this location, and we first saw it about two-and a half years ago,' Schanke said. 'I started nosing around and I reached out to my broker. It's a great location.'
The West Hartford restaurant will be the ninth business owned by Meraki Restaurant Group, which employs more than 150 people in the state. It all started with four Jersey Mike's franchises starting with Manchester in 2018, followed by Middletown (November 2020), Rocky Hill (October 2021) and Enfield (November 2021).
'We were one of the pioneers of Jersey Mike's in the state,' Schanke said. 'At the time we opened our first location, there was one in Meriden. It's a household name now but back then there was just one in Connecticut and the next one was in Boston. We rolled the dice on a great brand.'
Meraki Restaurant Group also has a partnership with the Hartford Yard Goats and Southern Connecticut State University and are scheduled to meet with Quinnipiac University about a potential partnership.
Poynton is originally from Naugatuck. Schanke was born in Iowa, grew up in New Jersey and ended up in Connecticut in 2000 after several stops around the country. The couple worked for The Real Yellow Pages and spent 25 years in the corporate world with AT&T Advertising Solutions before they pivoted to business ownership with the Meraki Restaurant Group.
'We try to run our business in a place where people can build a career like my wife and I did with the phone company,' Schanke said. 'We offer health benefits and a 401K with a company match up to 4%. We are about product, people and passion.'
Meraki is a Greek word meaning to do something with heart and soul. 'Not only do we want to serve a good product, but we want to help the community as well,' Schanke said. 'We do community fundraising at Jersey Mike's for anyone that signs up.'
Schanke said the restaurant group is proud to have partnered with Where Angels Play Foundation to raise funds in support of a playground being built in memory of the four Koropatkin children who lost their lives in a multi-family house fire in Somers in 2024.
Where Angels Play Foundation had previously built 26 playgrounds honoring the Sandy Hook School shooting victims.
Schanke and Poynton live about a half mile from the Koropatkin household where 11-year-old Lukas, 9-year-old Genevieve, 7-year-old Benjamin and 5-year-old Archer were killed in the blaze.
'We did a joint 'Month of Giving' with Jersey Mike's and Teriyaki Madness and we raised over $85,000 to help build a playground in Somers in the fall,' Schanke said. 'We want to give back to the community. That's the kind of culture we have at Meraki.'
Schanke and Poynton opened their first Teriyaki Madness franchises in Hamden and Enfield in December 2023, followed by Manchester in June 2024, Avon in April 2025 and now West Hartford. In total, Teriyaki Madness has 160 locations across three countries.
The restaurant's top seller is the spicy chicken teriyaki bowl. He said his personal favorite is the regular teriyaki chicken bowl. Orange chicken is also a popular selection.
'The portions are huge,' Schanke said. 'I can't eat a regular bowl at once. They come with white rice, brown rice, fried rice or yakisoba noodles. … The veggies are chopped fresh every day and are steamed at the time of the order. There is nothing sitting on a steam table for an hour. Everything is fresh to order, and it takes about 10 minutes to get each order together.'
Schanke said its fresh healthy concept has spread throughout Connecticut.
'Teriyaki Madness has everything fresh to order with nothing pre-sliced or pre-made,' Schanke said. 'The company has great people and a great product, and they provide a lot of support as well, with support for training and a business coach who helps you through the weeds.'
Teriyaki Madness, located at 259 Prospect Ave. in West Hartford, will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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