The Kokura branch of Fukuoka District Court began bankruptcy proceedings on Oct. 2 for the company that operated Honten Tetsunabe, the Kitakyushu restaurant credited with originating iron-pan gyoza. The business began in Orio in 1958 and later expanded to Kurosaki and a production facility in Nakama. After transferring its main restaurant and factory to a third party in 2025, it continued operating only its Ekimachi 1 Chome Orio outlet. That outlet closed on Sept. 29 because the elderly owner was unwell and had no successor, while the company’s debts remain under investigation. Other restaurants using the Tetsunabe name are not connected to this bankruptcy. Source: RKB News / Yomiuri Shimbun
Photo: Fukuoka Now (For image purposes only)
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