A local Japanese/Burmese restaurant is hoping to expand through franchising.

Lime House Sushi & Ramen has received approvals from New York as a registered franchisor, with plans to expand the business concept beyond Western New York.

Founded in 2017 in Williamsville, Lime House expanded last fall into Hamburg under a modified fast casual concept. That’s compared to the original site, where the business operated as a full-service restaurant with a large menu and a bar.

Scaling back the menu and shifting to counter service allowed owner Thanda Win to reduce staffing by eliminating the need for servers and bartenders.

And though she has lost some revenue without income from the bar, Win said, she can seat more people with a larger dining room in Hamburg. That’s helped stabilize the business, which led to a decision earlier this year to close the Evans Road site.

COURTESY: LIME HOUSE

The new model can be duplicated, Win said. She has launched a franchise opportunity website and plans to travel in early June to the International Franchise Expo in New York City to begin marketing the concept.

“We want to change the idea of fast food to fresh food,” she said.

She’s hoping to identify interested franchisees first in the New York market and other unregistered states nearby so she can provide appropriate training and support.

“We don’t want to grow too far away yet. We’ll start with New York and close by and see how things are going,” she said.