I want to tell myself before I started the restaurant that 11 years later, things will be crazy. However, I wouldn't tell myself to give up on the restaurant. This is an experience in itself, and I still have the energy to bounce back from this.
As of last week, Bokumo is no longer a restaurant. It has become a store that sells bento boxes and wine. It is intended to be for a limited time, but I don't know how long it will last.
"To prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, restaurants are requested to voluntarily refrain from operating." How to interpret this is left up to each business owner in Japan.
Some people say it would be better to have a system like other countries where "if you operate, you are punished." But what would happen if we did that in Japan? Would it be the police who would crack down on it? Would they go to places where they are operating and issue tickets? Would people report that store for operating illegally? That's disgusting. It just smells of violence.
The term "conformity pressure" is treated as if it's a bad thing, but there are some good things about it. If you try to suppress people with compulsory power from above, you're sure to get a backlash, so instead of suppressing them, you can use the conformity pressure that is unique to Japanese people to create a mood throughout society where people feel the need to restrain their behavior. That way, social order is less likely to break down. I prefer that. Is that too naive?
On the other hand, some people say that "how the manager perceives this self-restraint will reveal their sense." I hate being asked about my sense. Whatever I do, I can only explain that "I did it the way I wanted to, and this is what happened." I don't even think about doing it tastefully. But there will be people who label each store as having good taste, and each store as having bad taste. And if those voices are loud, everyone will agree. Isn't that just peer pressure? It's no good, peer pressure.
Returning to the main topic, Bokumo has decided to close its restaurant business and become a bento shop. Why did I do that? How did I compare it to other options? I would like to summarize these points and explain the reasons for my choice.
In light of this state of emergency declaration, what options are available to restaurants?
- No eating and drinking, only takeaway and delivery
- Restaurants will operate for shorter hours and offer takeaway and delivery services.
- Closed with no dine-in, take-out or delivery services
- Close down a store
It's one of these.
Bokumo is a "1". Rockmo did takeaway for a while, but now it's a "3" (Rockmo is a bar. It's closed because it's part of the business requested to close by the prefecture).
There are still quite a few stores in my neighborhood that are classified as "2". I've been out delivering bento lunches by bicycle a few times, and it seems that many of them allow drinking until 7pm and have shortened business hours until 8pm. But as far as I can see, there are no customers. There are hardly any people walking on the streets. I don't think any stores are profitable.
Why doesn't Bokumo choose option 2? Of course, it's not profitable, but the same is true for option 1. It's almost impossible for a restaurant to suddenly start offering takeout or delivery and make a decent profit. This is because the business model of a restaurant is completely different from the business model of a takeout or delivery store. In other words, whether you choose option 1 or option 2, you'll end up in the red.
But I didn't make it "2" because of the health of my staff and myself. That health includes the mind. New information comes out almost every day. Different people receive that information in completely different ways. In my family, there was a time when my wife and daughter seemed very nervous to me, and that led to arguments. I think that such conflicts caused by differences in perception are happening a lot in the world. And, of course, staff also have human relationships. For example, even if the staff themselves are willing to open, their family members might say, "Why aren't you closing your workplace yet?" If they said that, I would think that it might be dangerous. If I were a staff member, I would think that. So, for now, I need to be able to say with pride, "Mom, this is not a workplace where many people stay in one space for a long time." It's not limited to my mother. I need to be able to explain to my family, "This is how we're doing it so that we don't violate the three Cs." Even if we're shortening our hours, I can't be proud of having people drink and eat at my restaurant. That's why we stopped operating the restaurant.
And the reason I didn't give it a "3" is because if we were to close, we would lose communication with our customers. I didn't want that to happen. After all, we've been here for almost 11 years, and we know the faces, names, personalities, and tastes of many customers. If we were to close, we'd lose a place to meet those people. That would be very lonely. Many of our customers are going through difficult times, too. I thought it would be good to create a place to sell something, even if it was just a little bit, so that we could meet those people every once in a while (even if only for a moment) and encourage each other to do our best.
And there's another reason why I didn't choose "3." That's because I think the worst thing is to "lose the desire to challenge yourself."
This time, when things were getting really bad, the chef said, "Let's do bento or whatever. I'll do anything." Satomi thought about the layout of the store, bought containers at Shimojima, and thought about how to use SNS.
They're positive. They're still willing to take on new challenges at this restaurant. I'm very happy about that. A small restaurant relies on that kind of individual enthusiasm. If that goes away, it's over.
So this time, I decided to try my best to open a bento shop. First, I went to get a temporary liquor retail license. Now I can sell alcohol by the bottle. Some people may not be satisfied with the wines sold at supermarkets or convenience stores, so there may be a demand for a wine shop with a sommelier.
I also made posters, flyers, stamp cards, special meal coupons, stickers, and other things to display outside. With help from a friend, I put out information about takeout on the internet. I also held two Zoom drinking parties to share time with customers who couldn't meet in person.
And so a week passed.
In the end, I'm glad I did it. So far.
Of course, the sales are far from what they were when I was running a restaurant. But for me, the fact that we are all trying to overcome this difficult situation is not bad for my mental health. The chef is also making a lot of new dishes for bento that were not on the regular menu before. It's cool. Satomi is also thinking about how to get the information out to customers every day.
My fellow business owners and the vendors I work with have been giving me information about grants and loans while buying lunch boxes. I'm grateful for that. Many people at the Zoom drinking party went out of their way to buy wine and lunch boxes at Bokumo before returning home to join us. I was able to connect with Tokyo, Sapporo, the United States, and New Zealand and share information. I'm grateful.
So now I'm able to think positively about the direction I should take next. I won't tell you exactly which direction I'm heading in yet, but I can tell you that I'm very motivated. I'll definitely solve my money problems.
Huh? It's all about the mind?
Yes, that's who I am.
The staff, the customers, the people who have taken care of me. I enjoy being with the people I'm with the most. I have no interest in opening many stores or physical development. I want depth, not width. I'm glad I was able to recognize that again. Damn it, Corona.
lastly.
Thank you to everyone who came to buy lunch boxes.
Thank you to everyone who came to buy wine.
Thank you to everyone who cares even if they don't buy.
We'll definitely do it again and say, "How about something this fun?"
Musicians who use Bokumo to release their works.
Someone who will hold a talk event.
I won't ruin the place. Let's do various things again when we revive.
Until then, please stay healthy, everyone.
I intend to stay positive until the day the number 4 comes.
