Some people said, “It was a sacred place for older men…” and “It’s not a cafe.” What is the true nature of the “uneasy feeling” about Yoshinoya’s “fashionableness”? Toyo Keizai 12/27 (Fri) 6:41 During the Heisei era, there was fierce price war over gyudon, and it was considered a symbol of deflation. Currently, companies have raised prices and the working environment at some companies that were criticized for being “one-person operation” has improved, and changes are occurring in many areas. As someone who loves beef bowl chains, I also write articles on them regularly. For example, in an article I contributed to Toyo Keizai Online in October entitled “Complaints about beef bowl chains’ ‘late-night charges’ continue to grow – we’ve become accustomed to the restaurant chains having become an infrastructure”, I discussed the reasons for complaints about late-night charges from the perspective of beef bowl chains having become an infrastructure. In this article, we will be looking at the “fashionable transformation of Yoshinoya.” While it may seem like a good thing that the space will be brighter and cleaner, there are some voices online lamenting the changes, such as “It was a mecca for older men…” and “It’s not a cafe.” What is the reason for this? ■Is Yoshinoya changing to become more welcoming to women and families? “Cooking & Comfort” is a new store style that is currently being spread at Yoshinoya. This restaurant is also called “Black Yoshinoya” and aims to break away from the traditional image of “the beef bowl restaurant” with only counter seating (Orange Yoshinoya), and can also be used as a cafe. The modern and stylish interior is filled with plants, creating a well-being atmosphere. I often visit the place to do work, and it’s a very comfortable place. In fact, behind these “changes” at Yoshinoya lies a “shift in customer demographics” not just at Yoshinoya but at the beef bowl chain as a whole. I would like to consider these changes and whether they will be successful as a business. There are currently 436 Yoshinoya “Cooking & Comfort” stores. Of the 1,249 stores nationwide (as of November), approximately 35 percent are of this type. The company aims to have 532 stores by the end of February 2025, and is keen to expand. The store marks a big departure from Yoshinoya’s previous direction. Specifically speaking, it is a shift from “a space where one person can eat silently” to “a space where women and families can relax.” Yoshinoya opened in 1899. It first opened in the Nihonbashi fish market. They started offering quick and easy beef bowls for busy market workers, and they became very popular. Its slogan is “Delicious, cheap, fast,” and it has limited the number of menu items other than beef bowls, focusing on providing cheap and quick beef bowls for solo men. The store’s orientation is also reflected in its space. Traditionally, Yoshinoya has created a space specifically tailored for office workers who want to eat their food as quickly as possible. With a row of counter seats and a simple interior with few furnishings, it is a “space where you can dine alone in silence.” However, the currently operating “Cooking & Comfort” business model is not like that. It is a space where women and families can relax. ■What are Cooking & Comfort stores like? Let’s go inside and take a look. The first thing you notice is the brightness of the atmosphere. The interior is bright and monochrome, with Western music playing, making you feel like you’re in a stylish cafe. There are also plants planted here and there, adding color to the monochrome interior of the store. They are artificial flowers, but there are plants. Orders are placed at a central register rather than over the counter, and food is also collected there. The style is a little different from previous Yoshinoya restaurants, but it’s not hard to understand. The seating is a mix of tables and individual seats, with slightly more tables than individual seats. The store I visited had a kids’ space and capsule toys for children, giving it a great “Welcome, families!” vibe. Additionally, each table has an electrical outlet, making it a comfortable café space. By the way, this store also has a drink bar, making it perfect for working (this article is being written at Yoshinoya). Overall, the interior of the store is designed with women and families in mind, and the reason Yoshinoya created stores like this is probably because they are seeing the limits of expanding their stores with only single males, which has been their previous customer base for beef bowls. The beef bowl industry as a whole was reaching its ceiling in terms of the number of stores, and in order to expand further, it was necessary to expand its customer base. In this situation, they are aiming to target the target demographic that has been overlooked by beef bowl restaurants until now. This is especially convenient for the stores as families tend to spend more than single customers. Yoshinoya is moving away from being a “cheap, quick restaurant for solo diners.” *See the quote below.
>>3 At one point, Matsuya increased the number of table seats in an attempt to attract families and couples, but this only led to a drop in turnover and sales, so they’ve gone back to making counter seats with partitions for single diners the norm.
You guys are using chopsticks that old men and grandfathers have licked all over. You guys are using bowls that old men and grandfathers have spat into and dropped saliva into.
I heard that female customers choose Sukiya but not Yoshinoya. Yoshinoya is moving in the direction of increasing portions with large and extra-large servings, but is said to be the last in the industry to offer reduced-volume menu items for children and customers with small appetites.
A mecca for old men. There are more and more nice Gyoza no Ohsho stores now. There are some stores with counter seating on the first floor and table seating on the second floor.
Don’t let this turn out like Workman. Their base customer base will move away and the trendy customers will quickly get bored and the store will be deserted.
The Yoshinoya in my neighborhood has been renovated with a new black logo and the quality of the staff has gone down to rock bottom, it has a really bad reputation with all types of customers lol.
I wonder when Yoshinoya started going astray? A food restaurant should simply strive to find a balance between taste and price, but when you start hiring employees who have studied business administration or economics at university, things start to go in a strange direction.
Sukiya has always had table seating, and when I saw a family eating there about 20 years ago, I felt like I was looking at a low-income family, but now I guess it’s just normal and there’s no resistance to it. I don’t know though.
It would be better to launch it under a different brand, but if you’re too naive and think people will understand because you changed the color, it probably won’t work.
When Yoshinoya raised its prices, you guys said “I’m not going there anymore,” right? They’ll have trouble if they don’t attract a different customer base.
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