TOKYO -- Pepper Food Service's Ikinari Steak stand-up dining chain is expected to show another year of red ink when the Japanese restaurant operator reports 2019 results on Friday, but President Kunio Ichinose is optimistic that he can cook up a rebound this year.
Late last year, a handwritten "request from the president" was posted in a Tokyo outpost of the chain with many chronically empty seats. It pleaded with customers to come eat at the restaurant or else the company would be forced to close it down.
