Being aware of our role as a store that supports our customers' daily lives
Don't let Corona get the better of you, Osaka!
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, people are being asked to refrain from going out this weekend in Osaka. Our shop has closed.
Yesterday, Saturday, business was relatively relaxed, perhaps because we were checking the surrounding situation or because we expected that Usagi and I would definitely be closed, but today, Sunday, it was so busy that it was almost impossible to get around. Perhaps because we had shortened our business hours, many customers came in at the same time.
Last night, I walked around the area while running some errands, and there were so many people walking around that it didn't feel like people were refraining from going out. I'm not sure if they were trying to continue living their lives as normal, or if they were enjoying their last weekend in anticipation of a possible city lockdown next week or later.
We don't want to cause anxiety, but as a store we are feeling such a sense of crisis that we have no idea what will happen to our business from the start of next week.
We may be forced to stop operating the cafe.
Being aware of our role as a store that supports our customers' daily lives
Our customers who come every week looked very relieved when they arrived. Next week may be even more difficult, but we hope to find a balanced approach, ensuring that we are there to provide emotional support to our customers and not take away their daily lives.
— Usagi to Boku [Abeno, Showa-cho, Osaka] (@usaboku) March 28, 2020
From yesterday's tweet.
As we are a coffee shop located in a downtown area, we hope to continue operating as a place that is close to our customers' daily lives, without changing things as much as possible.
Amidst this ongoing uncertainty, seeing how our customers are doing has made us realize once again our role as a hub of support for the local community.
I think people are feeling tense, so I hope they can take a break, even if just for a short while. I think coffee can play a role in that too.
Regarding our business style, we plan to continue as we announced this weekend. We will let you know if there are any changes.
In summary,
・We will reduce the number of seats at the counter and improve ventilation.
・We ask that you use the cafe with as few people as possible and for as short a time as possible.
It is a feeling.
When operating a store, please be careful to avoid the three Cs mentioned above.
We understand that some customers may be uneasy about going out, so please also use our online shop.
As the infection has not yet reached its peak, I think that this style will probably continue for years to come.
I hope we can come to terms with the virus while still being properly afraid of it.
Whenever change occurs, always return to the basics
We hope to continue operating our business while being mindful of not taking away from our customers' daily lives, so that we can provide emotional support to our regular customers, but it is still unclear what our lives will be like in the future as we come to terms with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our customers' lifestyles will likely change to adapt to life with COVID-19, and I feel that we too will have to completely transform our business model to adapt to this.
"Doing what you can to help someone"
The essence of our work and what we value when thinking about creating a store.
When the store itself is forced to change in the future, we would like to go back to basics and reconsider what we want to be.
I might ask you for help
We hope to act as quickly as possible while sensing the situation in society, but as the future is uncertain, unexpected things may occur.
I feel like there will be things that we cannot handle on our own.
When that time comes, I will not hesitate to send out an SOS, so please help me out.
I also hope to be of some help to you.
