City Wok Lands Franchise At Dulles

A popular Coachella Valley eatery has expanded to Washington Dulles International Airport.

Advertisement Stuart Davis, chief executive and founder of the Palm Desert City Wok restaurant, called from one of the nation's busiest airports to say the business he began to offer as a franchise last year has opened a new store in a terminal serving travelers who fly from coast to coast.

The franchisee is Hakan Ilhan, an East Coast entrepreneur.

Davis said he signed a franchise agreement with Ilhan after City Wok was contacted by Westfield, which handles concessions in the airport serving Virginia and the greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

He said he was told the airport was seeking an upscale Asian restaurant with an all-fresh-food concept. Qualifications included a solid track record and airport connections.

Franchise contract terms were not divulged, but Davis said most involve a $30,000 franchise fee and a royalty fee, typically 5 percent. In this case, airport leasing costs and overhead issues had an impact on the royalty rate.

Ilhan, who owns and operates 12 franchise ventures, among them Einstein Bros. Bagels, said he is excited to operate City Wok at Dulles.

"The response has been amazing to this delicious product," he said in a statement. "We're looking forward to bringing City Wok to other venues in the D.C. area." "The airport venue's been fantastic," Davis said. "It's giving us great exposure, too. Airport food is always a big story, especially since airplanes don't serve food anymore. With the whole security issue, people are in airports much longer. There's a huge market for it." City Wok, which opened 15 years ago, sold its first dish in Studio City 20 years ago. The woks began to sizzle in a restaurant in San Diego six years ago.

Over the past few years, Davis' privately owned company, Hu Yu Inc., formed City Wok LLC to set up independent franchise stores across the country. Davis said he's opening stores at a sure-but-steady pace.

One franchise has opened in Orange, he said, and a deal is cooking with Miami-based investors eyeing store locations from Palm Beach County to southern Dade.

"There's been a lot of interest because everything we use is fresh," he said. "We set it up so people can watch as the food is being prepared. The uniqueness is a big part of it." Since City Wok's opening at Washington Dulles, Davis said the restaurant has averaged 400 sales a day. Orange chicken is the hands-down favorite.

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