To have the new and old coexist in the town.

An interview with Mr. Masahiro Yamaguchi, the manager of 'Yakitori SANTARO’

Located in a good location with 3 minutes walk from Marugame station, there is a restaurant ‘Yakitori(Grilled Chicken)SANTARO'.
The restaurant is crowded with many customers on weekends. Mr. Yamaguchi, the manager of this restaurant, came back to his hometown Marugame when he was 25 years old, and started working here. At that time, his parents managed the restaurant.
It has been 18 years since Mr. Yamaguchi started running a business in the port town in Marugame. We asked him about his restaurant and his feelings towards this town.

I want this restaurant to cope with the town, which changes gradually.

Could you tell me about the beginning of your business ?

I am the second generation in this business, and my parents are the founders. Initially, they had run their restaurant in Kawanishi town; then, they moved here.
Though they founded the business about 34 years ago, it has been 17 or 18 years since I began to work with my parents.

What was your job before then?

I had worked as a chef for Japanese restaurant for five years in Osaka. When I was about to change a restaurant, my father got sick. So I came back to Kagawa.

How was your impression of the town when you came back?

There were still some old shops, like two sushi restaurants, an amusement arcade in the basement of Marugame station, a general store, and a bookstore, which now all went out of business. I grew up in Marugame and knew the thriving of 25 to 30 years before. Stores had been decreasing rapidly. I thought once the town was going to be deserted. However, the number of people is growing after the book “Incredible Sanuki Udon” was published. They visit here to eat udon noodle from outside of Kagawa. Recently we have tourists from abroad. The mood in this town is getting better little by little.

You mean like the types of customers in this restaurant have also changed?

Exactly, they are more varied now. Since we sometimes have customers from abroad, we have just asked a brewery to make a menu for foreign customers. I’m not sure if they like it.
Offering information and preparing for having foreign customers are needed, though.　Having said that, we also have local customers; I am trying to welcome a variety of customers widely.

Keeping “the SANTARO style” which customers have loved　

While the restaurant name is “Yakitori SANTARO”, you also serve other dishes like fish, right? Is it because of your experience as a chef at a Japanese restaurant?

Right. After I joined, we have been serving fish. Speaking of purchasing fish, it is differ day by day. Because of climate change, fewer fishes are available in the last several years. We prefer fishes caught from wild. Furthermore, good quality fishes are rare. When we have lack of fish, we try to serve more chicken dishes because this place is originally a grilled chicken restaurant.
In my case, thanks to my parents, who started the business, I could concentrate on serving dishes. That means a lot to me, and I appreciate that. If I started this restaurant from scratch, I had to think about management. I doubt if I could serve fish just because I had the skill. My parents gave me the time for it.

That said, it is not easy to run a business for 18 years, I guess. What did you most struggle with after you took over the restaurant?

Dishes that customers want are different from what I want to serve. As I was a Japanese cuisine chef, I tended to choose high-quality ingredients and fancy plates. I also had a desire to create a unique cuisine at that moment. When I started working here, the original dishes were in fashion. Then, I served a little portion on a massive plate with a tasty sauce, but that didn’t work at all.
The customers of Santaro don’t want that kind of stuff. It doesn’t enough to be perfect as a combination of many ingredients. Our dishes have to be well as the ingredients. That’s why I am committed to being simple.

To serve simple dishes, what do you make it a habit everyday?

I take freshness seriously. I also maintain and use clean cooking oil. Until I got used to that, I was nervous about purchasing and using oil, like trying to change oil before it gets old and using pure oil for a grilled chicken leg. I perform the basic chores, like cleaning a fryer and sterilizing cutting boards, thoroughly.
Besides, I skewer fresh raw chickens on each skewer by myself. I think it tastes better, and it becomes more expensive if I order supplier that process.
Although these are classical methods, I’m doing my best as far as I can, for serving affordable and tasty dishes.

It is hard to continue, but comrade made me who I am today.

Do you interact with people who are doing business around here?

Yes, including me, four members are all entrepreneurs. They all have their own family and work hard. Of course there are many kinds of people in the town, but I ended up seeing those who are in the same environment as me.
Trying not to take stress home, I stop by a restaurant with them and share our problems, laugh, and talk without hesitation so that I can go home refreshed.
When we were young, we were rivals and best buddies. Now our stores and we are getting older, and our relationship became better. While we all should care about our health at this age, I want to contribute to this town as much as I can and run our business as long as possible.

You have been watching the changes of this town from your childhood, what kind of town do you want this town to be ?

I hope young entrepreneurs in their 20s or 30s can take new things in this town and keep doing that. Hopefully, young people will open new shops here, and people who haven’t been here will visit this town. The station and hotels are near here, so it is convenient.
On the other hand, our generation and older people go to the stores that they are familiar with. So I hope this town will have the new and old coexist together.

I’m sure there are young entrepreneurs already. However, it may be difficult or unprofitable to start from beginning and continue.
Among the food and beverage industry, the idea that chefs open restaurants after they learned the necessary skills is common in our generation. On the contrary, the younger generation sometimes has an idea to open their restaurant first. In a restaurant, the ingredients will turn bad without any customer, though. Without money to run a restaurant, we cannot serve what we want to serve, and we cannot continue. That’s why some people think skills would be the first, but it is not necessary, I guess.
When young entrepreneurs improve themselves through competition, they would learn and be skillful naturally, I think. Hopefully they manage their business, and this town would be revitalized again.

The way Mr. Yamaguchi told the stories was honest, and I got an impression that he is committed to his work without any compromises. It reminds me of “the artisan spirits” in a good way. The chicken leg grilled in the well-maintained oven was so delicious. I hope he will stay healthy and run his restaurant for a long time. Thank you so much.