|
 |
 |
Chako Toronto, Canada |
|
At 42 years old: Japanese, bubble tea, Chinese hot pot, Bento box, and more. A total of 11 stores! |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
| Left photo: The store is decorated like a warehouse: ventilation ducts, exposed piping, fire equipment, etc. All of this lends itself to an open, casual atmosphere that encourages healthy appetites. Guests who love yakiniku are all in agreement that this place deserves a return visit. Right photo: Terrace dining is available, and a sit-down waiting area. |
|
|
"We see the Yakiniku business as a promising and profitable way to concentrate our efforts." |
Due to the growing success of his bubble tea business, Eddie Chang the owner of Chako, decided to leave college after the third year. With the confidence he gained from the expanding popularity of his bubble tea business, Mr. Chang decided to branch out into other areas of the restaurant business. From an early age, his dream was to be an entrepreneur; and he states that he could never imagine working for someone else.
As the sales of Bubble tea store No. 1 began to stagnate, he studied the trends in the food and beverage market and decided to diversify. Four years later, he started a variety of business: a Japanese restaurant, a Chinese hot pot restaurant (2006), a Teppanyaki store (2007), Yakiniku store No. 1 (2008, 180 seats), Bubble tea store No. 2 (2008), Yakiniku store No. 2 (2010, 200 seats), Yakiniku store No. 3 (2013, 180 seats), a Chinese-style roast chicken store (2016), a Ramen store (2017), and Yakiniku store No. 4 (2018).
Approximately four years ago, Mr. Chang starting opening new businesses using his own funds. His secret was to instill a sense of ownership within the head chef and manager to the point where they would not leave the organization. Along with the sense of
|
ownership came high salaries and additional benefits. “When you hire correctly to start with, you develop a sense of trust, and your people will not leave,” stated Mr. Chang. Most of his managers are the same ones he started with. Each has a house and there is a BMW in every garage.
Mr. Chang reached the point were he decided to concentrate his efforts on one area. “For the future, we decided to focus on the Yakiniku business which has greater profitability and a greater potential for growth. A Yakiniku restaurant has a higher cost of entry, so fewer competitors get into the market. This is not the case for Ramen or Sushi where anyone can get in. It brings me great happiness to see customers and families eating and laughing together as they enjoy their meals. There is something about people cooking Yakiniku together that makes them feel a sense of connection. The more you can make guests happy, the more you want to do it.” This is the power of Yakiniku, according to Chang.
Toronto, the largest city in Canada, is one of the most vibrant cities in the world with many nationalities. “I immigrated to Toronto 30 years ago, and that was the right decision.”
|
 |
Photo 1: "I still remember how delicious the bubble tea was that he served me,” according to the head accountant who has been with the enterprise since the start of business. Photo 2: By removing the barriers, the store has an open and unified feel. Photo 3: We display the fire prevention equipment as decorations to give the space the feeling of being in a warehouse. This creates a mood-shift among customers. Photo 4: Safety regulations require that the sprinkler system also be exposed. By having it exposed, this feature adds to the overall decor and reduces some of the corresponding renovation costs.
|
 |
| Photo 5: While the exteriors of “Chako” Yakiniku restaurants tend to be uniform, the interior designs vary according to local conditions and strategies. Photo 6: Mr. Chang made his BBQ grillown Bubble tea in the beginning, and even made his own cookers when he started his Yakiniku business. However, after numerous breakdowns, he decided to go with Shinpo grills because of their reliability, after he visited his home town of Taichung, Taiwan. Photo 7: The interior of one of his Bubble tea stores. The open environment lends itself to a pleasant dining experience for guests. Photo 8: The popular beef combination set. Japanese beef, American beef, Canadian beef, Australian beef; in any language: turning beef into gold. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
