Latest news with #TeriyakiMadness
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Restaurant opening in growing Modesto shopping center ‘rivals' Panda Express
Wood Colony Plaza on Pelandale Avenue has seen a lot of activity since Vallarta Supermarkets announced it was moving in a year ago. Nick the Greek, Thai Buri and Planet Fitness also have opened in the shopping center. Teaspoon opened just a couple of months prior to Vallarta's announcement. Now, another restaurant wants in. Teriyaki Madness, a 'fast-casual' Asian chain, has signage on the building at 3900 Pelandale Ave., Suites 610 and 620, which indicates it will be opening soon. It'll be the first of the more than 160-store franchise to open in the Central Valley. Teriyaki Madness 'thrives in busy strip malls close to health clubs or nearby businesses commonly patronized by people seeking healthier options,' according to its website. The suite that the restaurant is moving into sits directly next to Planet Fitness. TMAD, as the restaurant calls itself, has been described by food reviewers on YouTube as 'the fast-growing rival to Panda Express.' It even has compared its food to Panda's on its official TikTok account. As you can likely imagine, TMAD sells made-to-order teriyaki bowls. Aside from traditional chicken, steak, salmon or tofu teriyaki, bowl options include orange chicken and chicken katsu. Proteins are served over a choice of white rice, brown rice, fried rice or noodles, with steamed or stir-fried vegetables. Appetizers include a chicken egg roll, edamame, chicken potstickers and crab rangoons.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Restaurant raises money to remember children lost in 2024 Somers fire
ENFIELD, Conn. (WTNH) — Teriyaki Madness in Enfield was busier than usual on Friday, but customers weren't just enjoying good food, they were helping a local community. The restaurant held a fundraiser benefitting organization Where Angels Play, in rememberance of four children—members of the Koropatkin family— who died in a house fire in Somers last year. 'A hundred percent of the proceeds goes towards the cause, and this year we're doing it for 'Where Angels Play' for the four children in Somers that passed away,' said Teriyaki Madness Owner Audrey Poynton 2024: Fundraiser for fallen firefighter's family asks small businesses to pitch in Bill Lavin started the Where Angels Play foundation, an organization that built playgrounds honoring the lives lost in the Sandy Hook tragedy and other playgrounds around the nation. The playground being built honoring the Koropatkin family will be located at 41 Schools St. in Somers. 'It means so much to me. I don't even know how to put it into words,' said Kevin Koropatkin, father of the four children. The playground will be a reflection of the children. Their favorite colors will be spread throughout the space. 'We're designing it to represent the kids,' Koropatkin said. 'Benjamin loved the monkey bars and was very strong at them. He could do pull ups. We'll do green monkey bars for them.' The playground will cost $125,000, and volunteers from Where Angels Play will do the work. 'Twenty will fly in and come on their own dime and nickel and spend their time for three full days building the playground,' Teriyaki Madness Owners Ken Schanke, said. Koropatkin believes this playground will leave a lasting legacy for his family. 'It's also the Koropatin legacy,' he said. 'It's my grandchildren. It's how we're going to be remembered and honored forever.' Donations to the Where Angels Play Foundation can be made online at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
A CT family's four children died in a fire. To their dad, a playground in their memory is his ‘world'
As a major restaurant fundraiser is underway this week to raise money for a playground in memory of four young siblings killed in a 2024 house fire, their father said through tears, 'The playground makes it really real to me.' 'I should be taking them to the playground rather than building one,' Kevin Koropatkin said. At the same time, he said, 'The playground is the whole entire world to me.' It's a place for their friends and family to gather to remember the children. Koropatkin's only four children died in a house fire in Somers Jan. 2, 2024. His older stepdaughters survived. 'Where Angels Play Foundation,' which built 26 playgrounds honoring the Sandy Hook School shooting victims is behind the effort. They are hoping to have it done by fall, incorporating something special and personal about each child. The bulk of the estimated $125,000 is being raised by Ken and Audrey Shanke, owners of Meraki Hospitality Group, who own four Jersey Mike's and and soon to be five Teriyaki Madness eateries. Here's how the public can help at Teriyaki Madness in Enfield, Hamden, and Manchester: All March donate $5+ and get 50% off a regular-sized bowl. On March 28, 100% of sales go to the cause. The Shankes, long time donors to worthy causes, said they live in Somers too and one of the late children had a close friend on their street. The couple has raised as much as $80,000 for Make A Wish Foundation one year through a restaurant. Ken Shanke also has volunteered at an orphanage in Mexico for 40 years. The fire started on the left side of the multifamily house on Quality Avenue, fire officials have said. Killed in the blaze were Lukas Koropatkin, 11, 9-year-old Genevieve, 7-year-old Benjamin and 5-year-old Archer. Kevin Koropatkin said the children were his 'world.' He was a stay-at-home dad in the off work season, spent a lot of time working to support them and spent a lot of time with them. The night before he last saw them, he gave them two hugs and two kisses each because he went to the car and returned before leaving. Koropatkin said he lost his mom and dad young, other relatives and then, his kids. He had hoped to have grandchildren one day, but now that won't happen. 'I've been to more funerals than grocery stores,' he said. He said the death of his four children was 'the most shocking, unbelievable,' to ever happen in his life. He said one of the worst parts was he wasn't even allowed to see Lukas' body. The children died from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries and their deaths were ruled accidents, officials said. Bill Lavin, founder of 'Where Angels Play Foundation,' and a retired New York fire captain, said he started the organization after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. They've built 70 playgrounds. The playground, which is being created with the involvement of the families, will serve as a lasting tribute to the Koropatkin children and will be designed to honor their memory. There are personal touches according to each child's likes and interests. Lavin said Lukas loved to fish, so there will be a fishing dock in his honor, Genevieve was a girly girl and the boss of her brothers, Ben was artsy, and Archer was athletic. The playground will be built in a park area donated by Somers.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Teriyaki chain ‘spreading the madness' with three new central Ohio eateries
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A fast-casual Asian chain known for made-to-order Teriyaki bowls growing its central Ohio footprint with three new locations. Teriyaki Madness is 'spreading the madness' by launching eateries at 7105 N. High St. in Worthington, 5792 N. Hamilton Road near Hamilton Quarter, and 16 N. High St. in Dublin, according to the brand's site which lists each location as coming soon. Ohio State debuts reusable coffee sleeves to encourage sustainability The Denver-based chain currently operates one Columbus-area restaurant at 833 Polaris Parkway in Westerville that opened in 2020, along with other Ohio locations in Strongsville, Miamisburg and Fairfield Township. An Akron-area eatery in Stow is also listed online as coming soon. Boasted as 'the fastest-growing big restaurant chain in America,' the chain was founded in Seattle in 2003 and has since expanded to more than 150 locations across the U.S. through franchising. Menu items include made-to-order teriyaki bowls with protein options like chicken, steak, salmon and orange chicken. Each bowl comes with a choice of white rice, brown rice, fried rice or noodles and steamed or stir-fried veggies. Eatery serving Detroit and New York-style pizzas opens in Gahanna Appetizers, like chicken eggrolls and crab Rangoon, along with a series of sides, including stir-fried veggies, fried rice and noodles, round out the chain's offerings. The Polaris Parkway location is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
