Introduction example: もつ鍋田しゅう

"Tashu," Expanding from Nagoya to Kagoshima, and Its Unique Franchise System

Please tell me about the ---ta Shu Group.

Tashu is a restaurant group serving Hakata-style motsunabe across a wide area, from Nagoya to Kagoshima. What sets the group apart is that, rather than expanding through directly operated locations, it uses a unique spin-off system: trusted, capable employees who have proven themselves by rising to store manager can open their own Tashu restaurant under the brand and become company presidents. Only the two locations in the Hakata and Tenjin areas, along with any new restaurants opening in the future, are directly operated; all other locations are run by former employees as independent owners.

We do receive franchise inquiries from outside parties, but as we want to prioritize instilling Tashu's philosophy and supporting the staff who are already contributing to the business, we generally do not accept external franchise arrangements. Instead, our approach is to have people who genuinely believe in Tashu's appeal open locations in areas where we see potential for motsunabe.

What sets Tashu apart from other motsunabe restaurants?

Our distinguishing strengths lie in all of these areas: our understanding of the cuisine as a regional tradition, our uncompromising approach to ingredients and pursuit of deliciousness, our staff training, and our service, which embodies our philosophy and aims to delight our guests.

Another thing we place great importance on is keeping our prices affordable. We remain committed to never positioning ourselves as an upscale restaurant. Motsunabe was originally a dish enjoyed by ordinary people, and I believe that the more luxurious it becomes, the harder it is to convey one of the qualities that makes authentic motsunabe so special. Our goal is to share Hakata’s food culture with customers of all ages, from students to visitors traveling to Fukuoka.

Hakata Booms with Inbound Tourism—and Faces the Dilemma of Having No Choice but to Turn Visitors Away

—What proportion of your customers are from overseas?

At our locations in the Hakata area, international visitors—primarily from South Korea and Taiwan—account for roughly 40% of our customers. During lunch service, it is not unusual to look around the restaurant and find that nearly everyone is visiting from overseas. Every day, we see firsthand that, for international visitors, motsunabe has firmly established itself as the quintessential local dish of Hakata.

Our locations also have high ratings on Google Maps, ranging from 4.3 to 4.6, and we’ve received many reviews. I believe these ratings reflect the desire of international visitors to experience local cuisine while traveling, and we’re truly grateful for that.

—You have two locations relatively close to each other: one in Fukuoka's Daimyo area, where your flagship store is located, and another in the Hakata area, right?

Although our Fukuoka Daimyo flagship restaurant is one of the largest in the Tashu Group, we still found ourselves having to turn away around 2,000 customers each month.

Some restaurants may boast that they are so fully booked they have to turn customers away, but we see things a little differently. Rather than thinking, “It’s impressive that we have so many customers we can afford to turn some away,” we want to take seriously the fact that someone made the effort to visit us and we were unable to seat them. We believe that being able to seat every customer is also a very important part of customer satisfaction.

Bringing fragmented systems under centralized management

What challenges were you facing before implementing Respo?

In short, the systems used to run the stores were fragmented.

POS, reservation management, attendance management, and order management—all of these were running on separate systems, creating extra operational work. In addition, because the systems were fragmented, the information we could collect from them was limited, leaving us unable to make full use of customer data.

“Couldn’t we consolidate all of this into one system?” — It was something we had always considered, but with the major provider’s system we were using at the time, the more features we added, the more the costs ballooned, making it difficult to take that first step.

Another concern we had was our relationship with the system provider. We were looking for a partnership that made us feel we could build the future together.

The deciding factor was the representative's passion and commitment to “building the future together.”

What made you choose Respo from among the many services available?

The deciding factor was the passion of the Respo team.

Of course, we compared the system’s features and costs, but what impressed us even more was that they went so far as to ask, “How do you envision the future of Tashu as a company?” Rather than simply providing us with a tool, they clearly conveyed a genuine desire to understand our vision and work with us to create something together.

Honestly, I think the passion of the person in charge really matters. When someone lacks enthusiasm, it's hard to feel much love for or confidence in the company, but the person from Respo came to us with incredible passion.

What was interesting was that the conversation initially started with a consultation about the reservation system, but gradually expanded to include things like tablet ordering and promotional tools. When we first started, I never imagined we would be able to discuss such a wide range of topics. That really shows how flexible Respo was in offering us solutions.

I believe that system changes inevitably create some degree of uncertainty among frontline staff. That is precisely why the dedication of the people in charge and their commitment to supporting us every step of the way have given me confidence that we can introduce this to the frontline in a positive and engaging way.

Passing the expertise refined through our company-owned operations on to the owners of tomorrow

What developments are you aiming for following the introduction of Respo?

First, we plan to fully master Respo at our company-owned locations and develop a standardized operating model for the Tashu Group.

From there, we will extend the system we have built to the owners of our spin-off locations as they set out independently to open their own stores—that is the ultimate goal of this implementation.

The cost of opening a restaurant continues to rise year after year, and frankly, we are no longer in an era when people can casually strike out on their own. That is precisely why, as the head office, we want to create an environment where independent owners can open their own locations with confidence and reduced risk by putting systems in place that they can use from day one.

We expect Respo to play a central role as our key partner. We plan to first test and refine the concept at our company-owned stores, then bring it to future owners. We hope to build this process together.

Lastly, what message would you like to share with the food and beverage industry?

I believe every segment of the food service industry is facing similar challenges today. The workforce is shrinking, while customer needs are becoming increasingly diverse. In this environment, what matters most to us is always anticipating and preparing for what lies just beyond our customers’ expectations.

Perhaps food and dining alone are no longer enough to stand out these days. We need to offer something extra—tourism, for example, or experiences unique to the local area. I believe we need to combine food with these kinds of experiences to effectively share Japanese food culture with the rest of the world.

As Tashu, we want to embrace change and continue delivering new added value. To achieve this, we hope to deepen our relationship with partners like Respo so that we can exchange information with a high degree of awareness and responsiveness.

Store Information

Motsunabe Tashu Fukuoka Daimyo Main Restaurant

Address: 1F Flaps Building, 1-3-6 Daimyo, Chuo Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Phone number: 050-5304-8548

Restaurant information:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/RyHwPp2mTDGTv6gnDo5n

Motsunabe Tashu Kokura Branch

Address: 2F, Kokura Chamber of Commerce and Industry Building, 2-6-1 Uomachi, Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture

Phone number: 093-511-1132

Restaurant information:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/bx5fwJJnn9X6HhWAPxsS

Motsunabe Tashu Kumamoto Shimotori Branch

Address: 13-17 Hanabatacho, Chuo Ward, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture

Phone number: 096-328-1777

Restaurant information:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/uPMxmYLmkxe5hLC8oQRR

Motsunabe Tashu Ehime Matsuyama Branch

Address: 2F, Fuji Kobi Building F A, 3-7-19 Nibancho, Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture

Phone number: 089-909-5213

Restaurant information:https://autoreserve.com/restaurants/wc9KggazmDjP2e3YToHG

Motsunabe Tashu Nagoya

Address: 8F Gems Sakae, 3-9-2 Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture

Phone number: 050-5304-8541