This week, we're replaying some of our favorite Forbes stories from 2024.

Today on Forbes, meet the Japanese noodle billionaire, taking on McDonald's and KFC.

When Takaya Awata used his meager savings to open a small restaurant in Kakogawa, a coastal city off Japan's

Seto Inland Sea. The then-23-year-old named it Toridol Sanban Khan, or Toridol Store number

three. It was a promise to himself that stores number one and two were only a matter of time,

and he would soon achieve his modest goal of owning three restaurants.

Four decades later, Awada's Tokyo-listed Toridol Holdings has a network of nearly 2,000

quick-service restaurants across 28 countries and regions covering 21 brands.

The flagship is Maragame Semen, Japan's largest udon noodle chain by both

revenue and store count. The entrepreneur's fast food success has made him a billionaire and honed his

ambitions. At his headquarters in Tokyo's Shibuya district, the 62-year-old president and CEO says, quote,

I would like Toridaw to compete on a global scale. He adds that he's aspiring to make it a

$1 trillion Japanese yen, or $7 billion, company by revenue in the next decade. To achieve those

lofty targets,

Awada wants to reduce Tori Dahl's dependence on domestic diners

in a shrinking home market and focus on overseas expansion.

The global quick-service restaurant industry grew at a compound annual growth rate of 5%

between 2019 and 2023 to more than $1 trillion,

the fastest growing sector among the overall food service market.

This, according to an email from Tomaso Nastasi, a Milan-based partner at consulting firm Deloitte.

But in Japan, which is facing the challenges of a graying population,

fewer full-time jobs, and stagnant wages, restaurant operators must also grapple with rising costs

...