Far Yeast Tokyo Brewery & Grill reopens

From June 1, 2021, Far Yeast Tokyo Brewery & Grill in Gotanda, Tokyo will resume operations with infection control measures in place.

■Background

The request for restaurants that serve alcohol to close as part of the state of emergency measures has been questioned by leading companies in several industries, including Global Dining Co., Ltd. and Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd.

Looking at published data, for example, the percentage of cases by infection route in Hyogo Prefecture shows that 52.1% are households, 16.2% are workplaces, and 7.5% are welfare facilities, while restaurants are at the bottom at just 2.9%. Despite this, restaurants have been subject to extremely strict restrictions on their business hours as a measure to prevent coronavirus infection. However, the very staff members who are imposing these restrictions continue to dine out late into the night, proving that no one believes in the effectiveness of these restrictions. Source: https://www.asahishuzo.ne.jp/
news/info/004899.html/ )

As the above assertions suggest, not only is there no scientific basis for requests for restaurants to shorten their hours or close, but it has also come to light that government officials and politicians have continued to dine together, significantly undermining the credibility of these policies. Furthermore, Tokyo Metropolitan Government has been sued, claiming that requests for shortened hours and closures are unconstitutional and illegal as they infringe on business freedom, and the case is currently ongoing. We are closely watching the outcome of this lawsuit.

■Our efforts so far

Since the first wave of the pandemic last year, our company has consistently followed government requests, not only closing and shortening the hours of our directly managed restaurants, but also ceasing the use of our Tokyo office and encouraging employees to work from home. Furthermore, during the first state of emergency declared in April and May of last year, we delivered 920 lunch boxes to medical workers as part of the "Clap for Carers" project, striving to contribute to society to the best of our ability, however small. (Reference: https://faryeast.com/clapforcarers/ )
I believe that many restaurant owners, like our company, have cooperated in preventing the spread of infection, even while bearing the personal pain of a sharp drop in income.
Despite the efforts and pain of restaurant operators, it seems that the government is not fulfilling its responsibilities. The government's infection prevention measures and border control measures have not been effective, and vaccination is significantly behind other developed countries. The subsidies for requests to close or shorten business hours are insufficient, and payments are slow. If the state of emergency continues to be extended, businesses will have no choice but to go out of business.

■Business policy and our commitment

In this situation, rather than going out of business, we have chosen to continue fulfilling our role.
Since opening, Far Yeast Tokyo Brewery & Grill has prided itself on contributing to society by bringing joy and enrichment to the lives of our customers, even in a small way, through craft beer and food. While we were very hesitant about reopening our restaurant business in the current climate, we decided to go back to our roots and contribute to society by focusing on the value our restaurant can provide to our customers.

Of course, we will take thorough infection control measures.

・We will take customers' temperatures and refuse entry to anyone who is unwell or has a fever.
・We ask customers to fill out their contact information when entering the store and cooperate with epidemiological investigations in case of an emergency.
(Personal information will be managed appropriately in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act and will not be used for any purpose other than providing information to public health centers conducting epidemiological surveys.)
・Customers are also asked to wash their hands and disinfect their fingers thoroughly.
・Customers will be advised to wear masks except when eating or drinking.
・Seating will be arranged to avoid overcrowding, and partitions will be installed to provide shielding.
・We will thoroughly manage the health of our employees, and wash and disinfect their hands.
・Regular disinfection of high-touch areas in the store

We have learned more about these infection control measures over the past year and are now able to implement them more effectively. Our restaurant also has 32 terrace seats. As the warm weather continues, we would like to actively encourage our customers to eat and drink on the terrace so that they can enjoy themselves safely and comfortably.
Even after we resume business, our obligations to society remain unchanged. We intend to fulfill these obligations by taking even more thorough infection control measures.

Finally, I sincerely hope that this COVID-19 pandemic, which is causing unprecedented hardship for many people, will come to an end as soon as possible.