Using Smartsheet, Kura Sushi USA Enhances Visibility in Restaurant Opening Preparations and Strengthens Cross-Departmental Collaboration

Kura Sushi, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as “Kura Sushi”) was founded in 1995. The company has gained high acclaim for its policy of not using any of the four major food additives (chemical seasonings, artificial sweeteners, synthetic colorants, and artificial preservatives), its reasonable pricing, diverse menu selection, commitment to food entertainment, as well as safety and health, and heartfelt customer service. With as many as 545 stores nationwide, Kura Sushi has grown to become one of Japan's leading casual sushi chains.

The company has actively expanded overseas, with the United States (84 stores as of January 2026) leading the way, followed by Taiwan (62 stores), steadily increasing its market share. In particular, the United States has seen steady growth and has attracted significant attention. Kura Sushi USA, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Kura Sushi USA), which oversees operations in the United States, introduced Smartsheet in 2023.  Ms. Yuko Sasaki, Director of Board Administration and Executive Assistant, explains the background behind the introduction,

"Kura Sushi USA has been focusing on store development and has increased the number of stores by more than 20% annually. As a result, the number of store opening projects and the number of staff members have also increased, and the company began exploring additional tools to further strengthen project management across expanding operations."

"When opening a new store, we first sign a lease agreement for the property, then proceed with exterior and interior construction work. Additionally, we must simultaneously hire and train staff, set up accounts to manage procurement, sales, and labor costs for each store, and more.  Because these activities are closely interconnected, careful coordination and planning are essential. Maintaining well-aligned schedules helps support cost efficiency and talent planning throughout the opening process."

Kura Sushi USA has been actively expanding its store network, increasing its total number of locations by approximately 20% annually. As this growth accelerated, the number of new restaurant opening projects—and the staff responsible for managing them—also increased significantly, creating a need for a more sophisticated and scalable project management solution.

Opening a new restaurant involves multiple parallel workstreams. The process begins with executing a lease agreement and proceeds through construction, while simultaneously coordinating staff hiring and training, as well as establishing store-specific accounts to manage procurement, sales, and labor costs.
Because these activities are closely interconnected, effective coordination across teams is essential to keep projects progressing smoothly. Well-aligned schedules support efficient cost planning and help ensure that staffing and operational preparations are in place as each new location approaches opening.

As a tool used by many staff members and departments, the company chose Smartsheet for its ease of learning and use

According to Ms. Sasaki, as the number of store opening projects increased, each department and individual staff member managed their schedules using Excel. While this approach was effective for carrying out day-to-day tasks, there was room to further enhance cross-functional visibility and enable more timely collaboration across departments.

As a result, aligning progress across teams and allowing the management department at headquarters to gain an overall view of preparation status sometimes required additional coordination.

In light of these circumstances, the company began exploring the introduction of a new solution to further strengthen visibility across store opening projects and enhance interdepartmental collaboration. After comprehensively comparing multiple products, the company decided to implement Smartsheet.

"Originally, our real estate, construction, store opening preparation, and accounting departments used Excel, while our PR and marketing departments used the project management service monday.com. However, during the selection process, many staff members from various departments and stores expressed interest in using Smartsheet. The reasons were its clarity and ease of use. For example, using Smartsheet View, anyone can easily grasp the project timeline. Additionally, Smartsheet's interface is similar to Excel, making it easy for anyone to learn. Considering that many people would be using it, this ease of learning and usability were very appealing. The ability to automatically send reminder emails was also a convenient feature for helping teams stay aligned as they plan and execute store openings."

During the selection process, the fact that the person in charge of the IT department at the time was a personal user of Smartsheet and had heard positive feedback from business partners also played a role in the decision. As a result, the internal audit process was also completed smoothly. Ms. Sasaki says she has felt the benefits of the implementation in her daily work.

"I think the biggest benefit is that everyone can now see the latest information at any time. For long-term, high-volume projects such as store openings, having a centralized place to view up-to-date information is especially valuable. With Smartsheet, it's easy to identify where the latest information is, which helps reduce unnecessary inquiries and allows teams to respond more efficiently. The ability to upload drawings and photos is also very convenient. When opening a new store, there are often last-minute changes on-site. With Smartsheet, we can share floor plans and schedules with external contractors while keeping lease agreements confidential, which is a significant difference from Excel. With these various features, the implementation of Smartsheet has also helped the process from lease execution to restaurant opening run more smoothly. Company-wide adoption across relevant departments has supported clearer communication and enhanced overall project visibility."

Smartsheet supports fast-paced store openings, efficient preparations, and business expansion

Smartsheet supports fast-paced store openings, efficient preparations, and business expansionKura Sushi USA opened 10 stores in fiscal 2023 (September to August) and 14 stores in fiscal 2024, and plans to open 15 stores in fiscal 2025, surpassing both previous years. The financial results released in July 2025 (for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025) showed a 17% increase in sales and a 20% increase in the number of stores compared to the same period last year, indicating that the opening of new stores is driving business growth. In this context, Smartsheet is used as one of the tools that supports the store opening preparation process. Finally, Ms. Sasaki expressed her aspiration to further leverage Smartsheet as part of ongoing efforts to support future expansion.

"Opening stores as planned leads to increased sales. Our company sets a budget each fiscal year, so if a store opens earlier than planned, its sales are added to the budget earlier, creating a synergistic effect and helping reduce the workload on staff. The team responsible for store openings is small and travels between states to manage construction and train and supervise store managers and assistant managers. When projects progress smoothly, preparations can move forward in a more coordinated manner, supporting stable staffing and operational readiness. This is also important for providing high-quality services to our customers."

"The entire management team is very satisfied with the implementation of Smartsheet, and the accounting department has also shown interest in using it for projects involving communication with the Japanese headquarters. Store development is a very important project for our company, so we plan to continue leveraging Smartsheet as one of our management tools to support efficient operations and deliver delicious sushi from Kura Sushi to more people in the future.”