If no customers come, go to the place on October 28, 20:18

"Struggle not only"

of Tokyo Shinjuku of restaurant managers, he told us now of feelings.

"Go To Eat" has started, but the food and beverage industry continues to be in a difficult situation.

Still, there are people who are trying to seize the opportunity in response to changes, such as "No customers come. Then go to where you are."

(Yohei Kato, Reporter, Network News Department)

The destination of the kitchen car

Lunch break at a large hospital in Tokyo.

Invited by the sound of burning meat and the aroma of spices, doctors and nurses came out of the back door with a wallet in one hand.

There are two "kitchen cars" in the parking lot.

A corner of the parking lot is like a street food street.

Lunch break with a kitchen car has become a new routine for this hospital.

The shops change every day, so it's popular to have a "daily" menu.

On this day, there was a hearty taco rice shop where you can top with steak if you like, and a rouleauhan shop where pork ribs are boiled sweet and spicy and spiced.

"I've only eaten soba, sandwiches, or curry (in the cafeteria or convenience store) for almost 10 years, so I'm happy to eat," said the woman who bought taco rice with excitement.

The man after the night shift said, "I can't go out so much in Corona, so it's a good change," he said with a large amount of Rouleauhan.

Of course, there are restaurants and convenience stores in the hospital, but the hot and unique menu of the kitchen car fits perfectly with the needs of medical personnel who cannot leave the workplace.

It was not until the infection of the new corona became serious that the taco rice kitchen car that opened on that day began to travel around the country in earnest.

In the case of Kabukicho Bourbon

It is run by Isao Shimada (50).

Originally I was a vegetable wholesaler, but in 2002 I jumped into the world of food service.

He started his job as a bartender and is known by the nickname of "Mr. Bourbon".

I ran a Mexican restaurant in Koenji and Kabukicho, Tokyo, and used the kitchen car mainly for events.

When the infection with the new corona was confirmed in Japan, the number of customers gradually decreased, but Mr. Shimada said he did not take it seriously at first.

Mr. Shimada

"Honestly, I didn't feel that much of a crisis at first. I thought it would return to normal by the end of the rainy season."

Things got worse rapidly.

The store in Kabukicho, in the middle of Tokyo, was particularly seriously affected.

Until last year, many inbound tourists visited the area, especially during the cherry-blossom viewing season in March and April.

However, the number of customers decreased day by day, and on March 30, sales fell to 20,000 yen.

Furthermore, on the 31st, April 1st, and 2nd, the number of customers became zero for three consecutive days.

Mr. Shimada, who felt that

"

it could

n't be helped"

, decided to completely close the Kabukicho store in April and May.

During this time, we managed to secure sales by switching the Koenji store to a take-out center, but it is difficult for customers to return to the Kabukicho store that was reopened after the state of emergency was lifted.

Monthly sales were about 5 million yen, but in June and July they were about 600,000 yen, about one-tenth.

The rent of a store that costs 700,000 yen a month is not enough.

It also costs labor costs.

There is no choice but to

"Until now, there have been fewer things that worked. There is no way we can do it, so we have to blame."

Mr. Shimada did not look down.

I paid attention to the kitchen car.

Strengthen the kitchen car business with sustainability benefits and loans from Japan Finance Corporation.

In addition to the one for the event so far, one was put into operation in July and one more in August.

With the new Corona, if people didn't come to the city center, I thought, "I should go to a place where there are people."

Currently, 3 units are in full operation for 5 days from Monday to Friday.

We also open three hospitals once a week.

Taco rice with avocado is popular because you can easily get vegetables and meat, and some regular customers come to buy it every week.

Sales of the kitchen car business are gradually increasing, and Mr. Shimada is feeling a response little by little.

Mr. Shimada

"I started in trouble, but without Corona, I wouldn't have tried a kitchen car at such a speed. I feel that it is possible to earn money by reducing the burden on employees. I want to grow it further. "

From the office to the suburbs

An increasing number of restaurants, like Mr. Shimada, are finding a way out in kitchen cars.

According to Mellow, an intermediary company that matches kitchen cars with store openings, the number of registered companies is currently around 930, an increase of more than 100 after the expansion of the new Corona.

In the past, kitchen cars were attracting attention as a stepping stone to the food and beverage industry, but now the number of inquiries from businesses that already operate stores is increasing rapidly.

As the number of customers visiting the store with the new Corona is decreasing, there are conspicuous voices that want to diversify the business.

However, the kitchen car business was also hit by the new Corona.

Until now, the office district during lunch break was the main place to open stores, but working from home has become commonplace, and the opportunities for opening stores have dramatically decreased.

The number of places to open stores is increasing in condominiums far from the city center.

Until March, the sales of apartments were less than 1% of the total sales of registered businesses, but now it accounts for about 10%.

On the wall of Corona just before independence, open your own shop ...

Some chefs are trying to seize the opportunity by opening a kitchen car in the suburbs.

Hayaya Takanashi (32) worked at an Italian and Japanese restaurant for 12 years, but retired last December due to independence.

I was preparing to open a restaurant in Tokyo, found a store to rent, and was on the verge of contracting.

Around that time, the infection of the new corona spread.

All I had to do was sign, but when the state of emergency was declared, I once gave up opening the store.

"I was worried, but I was worried about what I could do,"

so I started a kitchen car in May in my hometown of Edogawa-ku, Tokyo.

It is popular to have a menu of delicatessen dishes that make use of the experience of Italian and Japanese food.

It is a professional taste that cannot be served at home, and the residents who have continued to refrain from doing so are pleased that they can "feel like eating out."

Currently, we are increasing the number of store openings, mainly in suburban apartments where there is likely to be a need for delicatessen.

On Sunday at the end of September, when we opened a store in an apartment house in Katsushika Ward, which houses more than 500 households, the prepared delicatessen and pasta sold quickly.

Compared to opening a store, sales are about one-tenth, but Mr. Takanashi looks forward.

Mr. Takanashi

"I'm not glad that I had Corona, but it's rewarding to see the faces of various people in various places. As a chef, I'd like to have my own restaurant someday, but now I'm in the kitchen. I'll do my best in the car. I can't help feeling depressed, so I have no choice but to stand up. "

Basic information on kitchen cars <Preparations required for opening>

● Qualification of food hygiene manager as in general restaurants

●

Business license based on the Food Sanitation Law for each prefectural health center

● For example, in the case of Tokyo, durability We check whether the car is qualifying, has a ventilated structure, and has enough water tanks to clean cooking utensils.

● Aside from the car, a business permit for the place of preparation for cooking, etc.

Also, according to the company that mediates between the business operator and the place of opening, when opening the business, it is necessary to purchase a car, remodel for cooking, prepare cooking utensils, etc. It means that you need 5 million yen.

Network News Department Reporter

Yohei Kato

Joined in 2008.

Currently in charge after working at Toyama Bureau, Chiba Bureau, and Ministry of Economic Affairs.

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