How Itsuyaki Makes a €15.50 Tampere Buffet Profitable

Itsuyaki operates a nearly €15.50 lunch buffet with about 100 items at its Tampere restaurants, Tamperelainen reports.

Teppanyaki is the chain's signature: customers pick raw ingredients and a chef cooks them on a hot griddle in an open kitchen, with dishes announced via a pager. The buffet also features customizable ramen and a wide selection from sushi to fried items. Prices run from €15.50 for weekday lunch to €20.90 at weekends.

Itsuyaki is part of Spartao Oy, which runs several restaurant concepts and typically locates outlets in shopping centres such as Ratina and Ideapark.

Margins have been tightened by major staff cuts. Headcount fell from 500 to 270 between 2021 and 2024. The company has also moved some sites to franchising and boosted revenue per employee through stronger-performing openings.

Efficiency measures include a central kitchen in Espoo, AI tools for demand and ingredient-price forecasting and streamlined services such as suspending table reservations at peak times, according to project manager Zhifei Tang.

Food waste is relatively low, about one to two percent of food costs. The brand targets families and is exploring growth in drinks, take-away and possible Nordic expansion.