Giving up on the restaurant industry to work in public relations for a host club… The future of a cake shop owner in Kabukicho, which is open only at night
This is a town where the American dream can come true.
In Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district, a “night cake café” that is open from 5:00 pm to 12:00 am is attracting attention.
The owner is a woman of many talents. Megumi Takeno, 45, has 18 years of experience as a hostess at first-class hotels and high-class Japanese restaurants in Paris, London, and Ginza, five years of experience in public relations at a major host club in Kabukicho, and is also certified as an “advanced SNS expert.
The restaurant opened last November and has quadrupled in size in just one year. But why Kabukicho of all places?
Continuing from Part I, we asked Mr. Takeno, who says, “Kabukicho is a place where the American dream can come true,” about the secret to his success.
Simply getting the word out doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get more customers.
Employees are working hard to promote the store on social networking sites. Two of the most popular on Instagram are “Kacchan and Hiyori. Before Kacchan came here, he went to a host club and got into debt. He graduated from a confectionery school, so he has a license, and his nighttime lifestyle makes him a good fit for the hours of operation. He also likes Kabukicho, so he came for an interview.
When I first met her, she had red hair on one side and blue on the other, and she was wearing a miniskirt and high heels. Her mother came with her, and it was a three-way interview. She said, ‘Is this restaurant OK? It’s in Kabukicho, but is my daughter going to be okay? She was very concerned. I see the mother regularly (laughs).
I thought she would quit soon, but Kacchan did not quit. Patissier is a behind-the-scenes job, and once the cakes are displayed in the showcase, customers often don’t get to see them actually being eaten, but here they can see inside the store through the counter of the work area.
But here, customers can see the inside of the shop through the work counter. Knowing that makes me happy, I enjoy my job. My appearance has changed drastically, and I don’t go to host clubs anymore.
Hiyori, another popular guy, is a transvestite. Kabukicho is a town where various genders gather. Many of the customers are also transgendered.
Hiyori and I were originally friends. I was working at a bar in Shinjuku 2-chome when I wanted to graduate from my job of drinking until morning. I asked her if she wanted to work at a cake shop because I wanted all kinds of people to come to my shop. I persuaded him and brought him here (laughs).
In addition to the videos of Kacchan and Hiyori, both of whom have strong personalities, Mr. Takeno does all the final checks on the videos he distributes, including the Insta-live videos.
Even if you just send out something interesting, whether or not it gets buzz and brings in customers is another thing. The customer demographics change depending on how the buzz is generated, so we pay attention to that.
In addition to videos, the use of Insta and X In addition to videos, there are other ideas for using Instagram and X. For example, cakes are displayed in glassware with legs. For example, the cake is served in a glass bowl with legs.
The cake is served on a glass plate with legs, for example, which is a particular touch. Everyone takes pictures vertically, so I chose a vertical bowl.
