Discovered from a Skilled Master! The Strengths of This Bar

Thank you as always! This is Kaiun-san.
Looking forward to another great day! 😊

It was a little while ago, but I had a dinner meeting for work, and afterwards, I stopped by a favorite bar that I, Kaiun-san, occasionally visit for the first time in a while.

The exterior and the interior looked the same as always with a casual feel, but the inside is entirely white.
It is a healing space.

When I come here, I always order a "Heartland" for my first drink.
Needless to say, it is a delicious beer. You can only drink draft beer like this at a bar. You won't find it at an izakaya.
My apologies if you actually do find it there 💦

And I have decided on the seat I always sit in.

This shop only has a counter, with just about 10 stools. It is what you call a counter bar.

The very back seat is my favorite spot.
There is a beer server right in front of me across the counter table. It is fun to watch the beer being poured right before my eyes.

The master here pours beer very carefully and makes it look delicious.

First, he pours the beer to about 80% full, scoops off the coarse foam on top with a stirrer once,
and then adds a fresh layer of foam on top.
By doing this, you can enjoy a very fine, creamy foam.

It is different from an izakaya or sushi restaurant where they quickly pour beer into a mug and say, "Here you go." That has its own charm, though.

This master makes the act of preparing drinks look very appealing.

When I come to this shop, the order in which I order drinks is naturally decided.
First, three "Heartlands," then one from the five original cocktails of the shop, then "Cutty Sark," a memory from my youth, and after that, a "Dry Martini."

And as long as time permits, I have a few more "Dry Martinis." While having a relaxed chat with the master...

I have talked about alcohol for a bit too long.

Let's get to the main point.
Actually, it is difficult to manage small bars like this.

The reason is that you cannot handle many customers.

Bars primarily have counter seating. This shop only has about 10 seats. Moreover, it is not full every single night. Depending on the weather, there are times when almost no customers come.

Furthermore, unlike restaurants where lunch is the main focus, there is no need to worry about how to improve customer turnover during the lunch peak.

Also, bars do not have the added value that snack bars or lounges have, such as beautiful ladies who entertain and charm customers, or karaoke.
That is because it is a place to purely enjoy drinks in silence.

When that is the case, customers will not go to such bars unless there is a solid reason.

You might be the same, but when you decide to gather with everyone to drink, you first go bar-hopping at a few izakayas, and once you get some momentum, one of your friends suggests going to a familiar snack bar, right?

If the next day is a day off, I might still go bar-hopping to other snack bars. I might even stop by a ramen shop for a final nightcap and have another beer (laughs).

That is why the people who go to bars are a specific type.

While it is fun to drink at a snack bar while teasing the young ladies, it is also enjoyable to quietly tilt a glass while chatting with the master at a bar.

How do the owners of such bars manage to keep their businesses running?

In a word, they are completely targeting repeat customers.
They are trying to capture fans.
In other words, the smaller the shop, the more they value their regular customers.

Since the number of seats is already fixed, the goal is how to naturally generate sales from the customers once they are seated. And how to get them to come back again.

That is where the real battle lies.

Having said that, you cannot just keep pushing drinks on customers. You cannot provide excessive service either.
It is about how to create a comfortable atmosphere and let customers enjoy their drinks.

And how to get them to return to this shop again.
These are the things they are always thinking about.

Writing it like this makes it sound simple, but I realized that the master of this shop is actually making a certain effort.

This person keeps a "customer notebook"

That is right. He writes down when customers come in, what they drank, and even what topics they talked about. He is turning visit details into data and using it to communicate with his customers.

I wonder if he remembers customers' faces instantly.

He is good at what he does.

By doing this, from the customer's perspective, it becomes, "You remembered me? That makes me so happy!"

Even without young ladies or karaoke, the data itself becomes added value, which is what makes it different from others. Everyone is happy to have someone who knows them, and they want to come back again to drink while talking.

That is why when regular customers come in, they all look happy, and some even bring snacks for other customers (laughs).

Furthermore, perhaps because this master is skillful, he will even bake crepes if you ask. Even though it is a bar.
That is why there are many female customers as well.

These kinds of things are the secret to staying in business for a long time, aren't they?

This master chose to continue steadily, even though it is impossible for sales to double or triple given the size of the shop.

Even if you make a bubbly profit temporarily like the disco boom of the 80s, it's no good if you go out of business right away, isn't it?

If I have another opportunity, I think I will write about how to make customers stay longer at a snack bar (lol).
Narihiko Kaiun

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