The Future of Restaurant Operations: A Vision by FORNO in Nishi-Azabu and Respo

FORNO is a steakhouse that opened in Nishi-Azabu in April 2018. In Nishi-Azabu, an area known for its fierce competition among meat-focused restaurants, FORNO has become a beloved destination where guests can enjoy luxurious steaks slowly grilled over glowing wood embers in a sophisticated, intimate setting. As its name—Italian for “furnace” or “oven”—suggests, wood-fire cooking lies at the heart of our cuisine. Firewood behaves differently depending on the season, humidity, and condition of the wood, so no two days are ever exactly alike. Mastering it is challenging, but that is also what makes it so fascinating.

Our signature offering is Tottori Wagyu Olein 55, and we also primarily use ingredients from Tottori, including vegetables and seafood. While our menu centers on course meals, we can also offer à la carte dishes upon request—a flexibility unique to FORNO.

That's right. In recent years, we've been welcoming more and more customers from overseas. Many of them have such wonderfully enthusiastic reactions when they try our food, and seeing that makes me want to take on the challenge of expanding internationally.

However, while this may also be the case at other establishments, I feel that as the number of international customers increases, the risk of no-shows (cancellations without notice) rises accordingly.

If a customer has a Japanese phone number, we can at least contact them. However, with customers from overseas, we often have no way to reach them, making it difficult to communicate in the same way. We may find ourselves worrying that something has happened, and even if we suddenly receive a message at the last minute, we may not understand it because it is not in Japanese.

The truth is, for a small business, even a single same-day cancellation or no-show can have a major impact. It’s not just the expected revenue—we also purchase supplies and make other preparations based on those bookings, so we saw it as a serious issue.

With the reservation system we used before, we were unable to charge cancellation fees for no-shows.

Also, while I think the system itself had a wide range of features, to be honest, there were some that we weren't making full use of. We would think, “This feature must be for something,” or “It can probably collect data and so on, but we don't know how to use it.” I felt that having features and actually being able to use them in the store were two different things.

The fact that TACUBO, where I trained, had already adopted it was a major factor.

You get all kinds of sales calls, don’t you? They ask, “Would you like to try this?” or “How about that?” But there are plenty of cases where people give something a try only to find that it isn’t what they expected, so naturally, everyone tends to be cautious when making a decision. In that respect, knowing that someone I knew was already using Respo gave me peace of mind. I also had the opportunity to hear more about it, so from the outset, I felt that it was probably something I could trust. Of course, cost was also one of the factors in my decision. More importantly, though, I felt that Respo was heading in the same direction as we were as we looked to expand overseas. For example, Respo’s booking page and AI-powered phone service support multiple languages from the start. And with the global AutoReserve service at its core, it is designed with marketing to international customers in mind. For us, with our sights set on overseas expansion, these features made Respo feel like more than just a tool for solving our current challenges—it felt like a partner that could move forward with us toward where we want to go.

Whether it was attracting customers or planning for the future, I felt we could work together with the same level of passion—and that was a major factor.

It's not that there was anything wrong with the previous system, but after our initial interactions during its implementation, there wasn't really anything that left a lasting impression on me. So I honestly felt that it might be better to work with people who share the same vision and goals.

Even during the consideration stage, I could really tell that there was a solid support system in place and that I would have someone to consult with. I was able to discuss in detail the various concerns I had previously had, and I feel that most of them have been resolved. At present, there aren't any particular features that I feel are missing. Of course, I expect that requests may come up as we continue using it, and when they do, I plan to share them.

Rather than simply using a finished product handed to us, we feel we can build a relationship where, as we use it, we can share ideas like, “It would be great if it could do this.”

—What are your expectations as you move forward with implementing Respo?There are two main things.

The first benefit is protection against no-shows. With Respo, we can reliably collect cancellation fees that our previous system was unable to charge. As the number of international guests continues to grow, this provides significant financial peace of mind for a small restaurant like ours.

The second is centralized management of bookings across multiple platforms. We believe this will reduce the risk of double bookings and ease the workload of the staff responsible.

And I believe that it is precisely because these fundamentals are firmly in place that a relationship in which we create something together can truly take shape.

First and foremost, we want to become the kind of restaurant that comes to mind whenever people think of steak.

We want people to think, “I’m craving a hearty meat dish, so let’s go to FORNO.”

Our restaurant was originally founded on the concept of bringing ingredients from Tottori to Tokyo and the rest of the world, so we hope to expand overseas as well. We would be delighted to have Respo as a partner who shares our vision and to continue working together for many years to come.

I think the cost benefits are definitely one of its strengths. It can also integrate with other platforms and be managed centrally, which provides peace of mind and helps prevent issues such as double bookings. For restaurants, having a reservation management system like Respo that can systematically handle issues such as no-shows provides a tremendous sense of security.

There are also many uncertainties about how the environment surrounding the restaurant industry will change in the future. Amid all the challenges, I believe one answer is to choose Respo as a partner that stands by your side and helps ease your concerns, even if only a little.

Address: 3F, Modern Forme Nishi-Azabu Part III, 4-11-25 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Phone number: 050-3628-1446

Restaurant information:https://autoreserve.com/ja/restaurants/o7UC58d6nk8r8GqHgUJN