Jieli's 30 restaurants closed overnight when its parent's NT$22B fraud collapsed

Jieli International Food & Beverage Group was a Taiwanese restaurant operator that grew to run 30 stores across 8 brands, including Japanese franchises such as Gyu-Kaku (牛角) barbecue, Pepper Lunch teppanyaki, and Maisen (邁泉) tonkatsu, alongside self-owned concepts like Sora Izakaya, Motomachi Ramen, J-Gogo Coffee, Tsubaki Hot Pot, and Maru-Michi Bento.

The rapid expansion was funded by its parent company, Wuhu Group (五互集團), which was running a massive illegal fundraising scheme. In 2023, Wuhu Group was exposed for illegally raising NT$22 billion (approximately US$700 million) from the public through unregistered investment products. The scheme collapsed under regulatory scrutiny, and the entire group's capital chain broke.

In July 2023, all 30 Jieli stores across Taiwan closed without warning. Approximately 500 employees — including 400 full-time staff and 100 contract workers — arrived at work to find the doors locked. Many learned of their termination through the news. The closure affected locations from Taipei to Kaohsiung, leaving suppliers unpaid and customers with unused gift vouchers.

The aftermath was protracted. Former employees sued for unpaid wages, severance, and pension contributions, with courts eventually ordering compensation in the hundreds of thousands of NT dollars. The Gyu-Kaku flagship store in Kaohsiung sat vacant for two years before the landlord listed it for rent at NT$1.02 million per year. The case became one of Taiwan's highest-profile restaurant group collapses, driven not by market competition but by a parent company's financial crimes.