San Antonio does love teriyaki chicken and to help spread the madness, a new player is in town to set its mission on delivering robust flavors of a Seattle-style teriyaki shop. So you may be asking yourself what is “Seattle-style teriyaki”? The answer to that question is that they take a slight departure from the traditional Japanese method and add garlic and ginger into the teriyaki sauce. Then they soak the meat in the sauce overnight giving it a great flavor.

A press release says that owners Daniel Gifford and Gilberto Vergara have set their eyes on San Antonio on opening up their first ever Denver, Colorado based Teriyaki Madness franchise in town. The Seattle-style teriyaki joint is located at 12822 W IH-10 Suite No. 206, San Antonio, TX 78249 in University Heights.

Teriyaki Madness is fast-casual teriyaki shop that is made-to-order healthy or not bowls, apps, and sides. Patrons will be able to choose a base bowl of protein from the menu such as chicken teriyaki, chicken breast teriyaki, spicy chicken, orange chicken, steak teriyaki, salmon teriyaki, spicy tofu teriyaki, chicken katsu, and Yakisoba style. Then they can add more to it if they wish such as appetizers and sides which a choice of stir-fried veggies, brown rice, white rice, fried rice, and noodles. The menu is totally customizable and that’s one of the best parts.

Vergara was once a Chicago native who had moved to the Alamo City in 2003 when he graduated from UTSA and started a successful real estate company that he continues to run to this day.

Gifford had moved to San Antonio back in 2009 from Las Vegas in pursuit of a master’s degree from UTSA. Once graduated, Gifford had worked with San Antonio’s premier catering companies within their emergency management division. It’s when Vergara and Gifford met at CrossFit and became good friends with similar interests in healthy lifestyles. Both had sought opportunities to grow professionally and financially and that’s when they discovered the Teriyaki Madness franchise and had a three unit development agreement.

“We realized that San Antonio did not have any fast-casual, Asian fusion restaurants that could begin to compare to Teriyaki Madness,” said Gifford. “It then became our mission to bring this healthy, tasty and craveable food to the San Antonio market.”

It is safe to say that Teriyaki Madness franchise is quickly expanding across the U.S. and was named one of the fastest growing big restaurant chains in 2021 by Restaurant Business. They have 140 locations opening by the end of 2022 and with more to come in 2023. Texas has now nine TM locations with three more coming soon.

“Listen – there are some things in this world that you just can’t deny, and people’s love of Teriyaki Madness is one of them,” Michael Haith, CEO of Teriyaki Madness, said. “From customers and franchisees alike, the demand for Teriyaki Madness is growing everywhere, and we have no plans to slow down anytime soon. Gifford and Vergara’s new location in San Antonio is a big moment for us and is another important step in our mission to bowl over the whole country with delicious teriyaki.”