New franchise has come

JAKARTA (JP): After a long absence, an all-you-can-eat restaurant was opened here yesterday. The Hartz Chicken Buffet franchise from the USA, run by the Sierad Group, has opened at Lippo Supermall, in Karawaci.

In the 1970s the same restaurant, called Vic-Viking, was opened but it closed after several years.

The Hartz Chicken Buffet offers 50 food items -- mainly chicken-based --, drinks, and desserts for Rp 10,000 (US$4.2) a person.

The Sierad Group said it acquired a 54% stake from Hartz Restaurant Inc. (HRI) in March 1996. HRI is the holding company of Hartz Chicken Inc. which owns the Hartz Chicken Buffet franchise.

Hartz Chicken Buffet operates 42 outlets in the U.S. and two in Malaysia. The group says it plans to expand its network in the Asia-Pacific region.

Next month the Sierad group will open another outlet here and next year it will open two in Shanghai, China.

The Sierad Group's president, Budiarjo Tek, said Shanghai was a prospective city where such a business was rare.

In Shanghai, Sierad Group holds 100 percent of the Shanghai venture. "It is Indonesian property, so it is not a capital flight," said Budiarjo.

"Our profit there will all come back to Indonesia," he said. (08)