More and more izakaya pubs, which are struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic, are changing the way they operate in an effort to attract a wider range of customers. By changing their menus to suit operating hours during the day and night, both izakaya and their customers are benefiting from a concept that provides diners with an opportunity to try something different.
At lunch time on a day in late October, some office workers came to the restaurant Kitchen Doma-ni in Koto Ward, Tokyo. Located in a building in front of JR Kameido Station, many of the customers came to enjoy the establishment's popular dishes, including "Tsukimi Demi," which is a hamburger steak with fried egg on top of rice.
The restaurant closes after lunch hours and opens again in the evening as the Doma-Doma izakaya. The izakaya was closed during the day until September, but it began to open for lunch in October as an establishment that offers yoshoku, or Japanese-style Western dishes. As Western dishes are also served at the izakaya during the evening, its staff could offer Western culinary expertise for lunch menus.
The daytime restaurant business model was developed following a drop in the number of customers that was caused by the pandemic.
"The number of customers dining at the izakaya fell to less than half of the previous year's figure in May due to the coronavirus pandemic," said Mitsuru Koizumi, an employee at Reins International Inc., the Yokohama-based operator of the restaurant and izakaya chain. "We still can't expect to attract as many customers as before because we have fewer customers holding banquets. So we had to build a new business model."
The izakaya-turned restaurant now attracts families among other customers, who seem to have rarely visited the place before, which creates opportunities for the operator to promote both its restaurant and izakaya among such customers.
"The typical [interior of] izakaya such as the dim lighting, which creates a tranquil atmosphere, and the booth seat are cool," said a 49-year-old female office worker who enjoyed a hamburger steak for lunch.
In June, a Kuuraku izakaya restaurant in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, began operating as the shaved ice shop, Junpyo Kakigori Raku, during the day.
Shaved ice is created with crystal clear ice and topped with homemade sauce that is made from such fruits as strawberries and mangoes, which is not too sweet and has a natural flavor.
Its signature dishes include strawberry milk and Uji kintoki (matcha sauce with red bean paste), which are popular with female customers.
"A shaved ice shop can be operated with a few staff. Another advantage [of opening a shaved ice shop] is that it only requires a small capital investment," said Hideki Murasugi, a manager of both the izakaya and shaved ice shop.
In some cases, two establishments merge in an attempt to keep their businesses afloat.
In August, Jizo-ya, a Tokyo-based restaurant operator, temporarily closed a coffee shop in Tokyo's Kichijoji area and merged it with a nearby restaurant that specializes in meat dishes. The establishment operates as a coffee shop during the day with a signature pudding dish and other desserts. In the evening, it operates as a restaurant that serves steaks, horse meat sashimi and other meat dishes, as well as alcoholic beverages. The operator said the merger reduced labor and utility costs.
In relation to dining establishments changing their businesses to suit hours of operation, Kuni Takeda, a restaurant industry expert from the Hot Pepper's research institute on food services, said, "There are advantages when dining establishments attract a wide range of customers, who were not their customers before, and consumers can have more choices."
"The restaurant industry will continue to face the difficult situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and more dining establishments are likely to follow the suit."
However, he also warned, "If such dining establishments operate during the day as a side business, they'll eventually fail."
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