learn about the history of this chain from Paraná

When the pandemic definitively closed the doors of Raphael Koyama’s parents’ restaurants in mid-2020, businesses were already accumulating millions in debt and the world scenario was uncertain. What to do? Raphael and his parents, Cláudio and Emiko Koyama, turned the lemon into lemonade. They sold assets, paid off debts and started over. Traditional Japanese food restaurant in Londrina, Matsuri closed its halls and became To Go.

Raphael, Cláudio and Emiko moved into a rented house. They lived upstairs. On the lower floor, the restaurant’s kitchen with chairs only for delivery attendants to wait for delivery orders. “At the time, we just wanted to survive, pay the bills and not go hungry”, says Raphael, who left his career as an engineer at a large construction company to help the family rebuild the business and is now the company’s CEO.

Currently, Matsuri To Go has 13 stores in Paraná – 5 owned and 8 franchised – spread across 12 cities in Paraná. The chain, which started in Londrina and spread throughout the interior of the state, opened its first unit in Curitiba in July. By the end of the year, the second one will be inaugurated in the capital. And now, in August, it opens a store in Jundiaí, in the interior of São Paulo.

After migrating to the delivery operation, the companies are preparing to open a restaurant with face-to-face service in Londrina, on the shores of Lake Igapó. By the end of the year, the network should reach 18 stores, with a projection of continued growth in 2024.

The growth surprises even Matsuri To Go owners. As Raphael says, in the beginning, they didn’t plan to set up a network. The plan, from the beginning, however, was to give delivery customers an experience very close to what they had in the salon. Voted the best oriental food restaurant in Londrina for eight years, Matsuri was known for its family-friendly service at its three stores in the city.

The salon’s relationship with delivery

Proof that the relationship built with customers was solid came on the first night of delivery services. “We received 74 orders in the first hour of operation alone. It was more than one order per minute. It was as if we had the restaurant full all night”, recalls Raphael. He says that the goal was to earn BRL 80,000 with delivery in the first month of operation. They closed at R$ 237 thousand.

And what does Matsuri To Go deliver different from other Japanese restaurants? The experience is certainly the highlight of the brand. O Good Gourmet received a box from the store in Curitiba and some small details make the order special.

The box – in which the pieces of sushi, sashimi and niguiris are arranged – comes wrapped in cellophane with a bow. Almost like a gift. Upon opening the box, a timeline tells the company’s history. The sauces that come with the order come in small plastic bottles. “To avoid those accidents that always happen with sachets”, explains Raphael.

For the customer to get into the mood of the restaurant, a QRCode provides a playlist prepared by the team. And, if there is any problem with the order, the customer talks to a centralized call center in Londrina – where the 30-person team that manages the network is based. The idea is that he finds the solution quickly, humanely and in the same tone of voice.

“In several cities where we are, we are the top 1 in sales of Japanese cuisine. And I believe that much of this is due to our actions. People ask, are surprised, and end up coming back also because of this contact we managed to establish”, comment.