Even though the restaurant is fully booked in April…An element of uneasiness surfaced at Hiroyuki Miyasako’s “Gyu Miyagi

Hiroyuki Miyasako’s (52) yakiniku restaurant “Gyu Miyagi” got off to a good start with a full house of reservations in April following March. However, there is no relief in sight. It is said that the closure rate for restaurants is 40% within one year and 70% within three years, so it is no mean feat to get a restaurant off the ground. When the restaurant first opened, you had to wait in line to get in, but before you knew it, it was deserted, and before you knew it, it was gone.

Everyone probably knows of one or two such restaurants. Will “Gyu Miyagi” be able to maintain the momentum of its good start and become a popular restaurant?

We asked Mr. Ryoji Narita, representative of Vigor Corporation, which provides consulting services to the restaurant industry.

Mr. Miyasako’s restaurant was very much talked about even before it opened, and it will probably be crowded with new customers for some time to come. However, when the number of new customers decreases, if the number of repeat customers does not increase, business will become difficult.

Mr. Narita has over 30 years of experience in the restaurant and food business. He is a “food and beverage professional” who has provided advice on everything from Michelin Guide-listed high-end restaurants to privately owned yakitori restaurants.

It is common knowledge in the restaurant industry that 80% of sales must come from repeat customers in order to run a restaurant stably. Some people become “super” regulars and visit the restaurant several times a week, while others visit once every few months, but the number of first-time customers gradually declines and eventually becomes about 20% of sales. In other words, it is impossible to run a stable business without repeat customers.

With connections and name recognition like Miyasako’s, it would seem that new customers would come in unceasingly even if there were no repeat customers, but it seems that running a restaurant is not that simple.

In the case of a new restaurant, it is not uncommon for it to be crowded with customers when it first opens. However, if those customers do not become repeat customers, the restaurant will eventually stop attracting customers and become deserted. You can tell in six months to a year whether you can run a stable business for a long time. 40% of people quit within a year because they say, ‘This is no good. Some manage to borrow money to keep going, but even then, they still fail to attract repeat customers and go out of business. This is reflected in the figure that 70% of the restaurants go out of business within three years.

Recently, a “mislabeling” of beef served at Gyu Miyagi was discovered. Although the restaurant’s website and menu indicated that “only female beef was used,” castrated male beef was also used. Miyasako apologized immediately after the revelation, but how does Mr. Narita view such a blunder that undermines customer trust, while reservations are coming in steadily?

I think it’s all a bit of a slap in the face after all,” he said. There is no one at the heart of management who is in charge of the whole operation and checking everything strictly, and I think there are loose ends in various places. When I actually heard from people who visited Mr. Miyasako’s restaurant, they said, ‘There are quite a few things that need improvement,’ and ‘It will be difficult if things continue as they are.

The biggest problem is that the customer service is not good at all. Orders are often wrong, and even when they serve something that is not on the menu, there is no explanation for it. This is a very bad situation in a high-end restaurant where the price per customer is over 10,000 yen. Wealthy customers who are accustomed to going to high-end restaurants do not evaluate the food based on taste alone. Everything from customer service and the atmosphere of the restaurant to the tableware is compared to other upscale restaurants. If this situation continues, we will not be able to attract repeat customers.”

In addition, the fact that the restaurant is fully booked day after day, despite the slapstick situation represented by the meat labeling issue, may conversely be a negative for the future.

The restaurant’s opening with so many customers at the beginning is also something to think about,” he said. Too many customers will cause the restaurant to be overstaffed and unable to show the good side of the restaurant, and those customers will not come back again. It could also happen that bad word of mouth spreads and you lose a lot of new customers. This is one common failure pattern in restaurants.

If new customers come gradually and gradually, the probability of them becoming repeat customers will certainly be higher. You don’t needlessly lose ‘potential customers’ who will become repeat customers in the future.

Will Miyazako be able to attract repeat customers? Mr. Narita believes that the future of Ushinomiyagi will depend on the way the restaurant is run from now on.

Mr. Miyasako has said that he wants to keep making improvements, so if he can make the right changes, the restaurant may be able to get back on track. There is only a limited period of time when the restaurant will be crowded with new customers, so everything will depend on whether Mr. Miyasako can speed up the process and make his words come true. Of course, if you are running a restaurant to increase the number of views on You Tube, there is no problem with what you are doing now. ・・・・・・

What is important is not the buzz, but dedicated management efforts.