Mom’s Touch opens sixth Japanese outlet in Shinjuku as franchise training hub

South Korean burger and chicken brand Mom’s Touch is strengthening its Shinjuku base to support franchise expansion in Japan. According to South Korean media reports dated 26 September 2026, the company moved its Japanese office from Shibuya to Shinjuku and opened Mom’s Touch Shinjuku Park Tower, its sixth outlet in Japan, on 7 September. Alongside serving customers, the restaurant will train new franchise owners and store managers.

Bringing the office and training restaurant together in Shinjuku

The move involves more than adding another restaurant. According to the reports, relocating the office of Mom’s Touch Japan and opening the Shinjuku Park Tower outlet are intended to bring site acquisition, store development, training and operational management functions together in Shinjuku to support future expansion.

Shifting the centre of its Japanese business from Shibuya to Shinjuku is intended to put the support structure for franchise growth in place. The Shinjuku Park Tower restaurant is not simply a company-owned sales outlet: it also provides a setting where new franchise owners and store managers can learn how to run a restaurant in practice.

For those following Japan’s franchise market, the notable point is that store expansion plans and training provision are being developed in parallel. This announcement confirms not just a target for more outlets, but also the establishment of a base for the staff training needed to support that growth. However, the reports provide no concrete results showing how far bringing the office and training restaurant together has shortened opening preparations or improved the efficiency of operational support.

Training covers cooking, service, quality and hygiene management

Training at the Shinjuku Park Tower restaurant is aimed at new franchise owners and store managers. It covers food preparation, customer service, quality control and hygiene management. Alongside learning how to prepare products, trainees will study the management tasks that underpin day-to-day trading.

This remit goes beyond product demonstrations or tastings. The outlet is positioned as a training restaurant where operators can learn both food preparation and service, and work through the requirements for managing quality and hygiene.

However, the full details of the training programme have not been disclosed. The reports provided do not specify its duration, costs, assessment methods or any further training available after opening. The existence of a training restaurant should therefore be considered separately from whether prospective franchisees will receive all the support they need.

Anyone considering a franchise should check not only who attends training, but also which tasks it covers and the level of competence participants are expected to achieve. In particular, an owner who plans to work in the restaurant may need to ask different questions from one who intends to delegate day-to-day operations to a store manager. The reports identify the intended trainees and main training areas, but do not set out all the terms needed to make an individual franchise investment decision.

From six Japanese outlets to residential areas across Greater Tokyo

At the time of the reports, Mom’s Touch had six outlets in Japan: five company-owned restaurants and one franchised restaurant. The network is therefore still predominantly company-owned, rather than franchise-led. Establishing a training hub can be seen as a step towards expanding the franchise side of the business from this starting point.

Reported locations for further openings include Itabashi in Tokyo, Sagami-Ono in Kanagawa Prefecture and Kuki in Saitama Prefecture. While training and operational management functions are being established in Shinjuku, the company plans to extend its restaurant network into residential areas across Greater Tokyo.

These locations relate to future opening plans, however. The reports provided do not give opening dates, precise addresses or details of whether each outlet will be company-owned or franchised. The six restaurants already trading should therefore be distinguished from the areas earmarked for additional outlets.

Plans to open in several parts of Greater Tokyo do not, in themselves, establish that sales performance or demand has already been demonstrated in each area. This news concerns the development of the company’s support base and the direction of future network expansion, rather than the performance of existing restaurants.

100 outlets by the end of 2027 is a target, not an achieved result

Mom’s Touch has set a target of reaching 100 outlets in Japan by the end of 2027. That would represent substantial growth from the six restaurants operating at the time of the reports. However, the figure is a future target, not a stated number of signed agreements or confirmed openings.

The reports provided do not break down how many of the 100 outlets would be company-owned or franchised, or how they would be distributed by region. Nor do they disclose franchise fees, required investment, royalties or franchisee earnings. The expansion target alone therefore cannot be used to assess franchise terms or commercial viability.

When tracking progress, it will be important to look beyond the total outlet count and separately monitor how many franchised restaurants actually open and how the training restaurant is used. The establishment of the Shinjuku base provides a starting point for that assessment.

Practical takeaway: Prospective franchisees should distinguish the 100-outlet target from the business’s current operating track record, and ask the franchisor to confirm training duration, costs and assessment methods, as well as the support available after opening.