The chef does not create the restaurant; the customers create it.
Idea is a company that was born from this concept.
Since we opened our first store in 1986, with the motto of “offering food that cannot be experienced anywhere else,” we have made each and every dish by hand, paying careful attention to the ingredients, cooking methods, and customer service, and seeking “the flavors our customers want” rather than the chefs making the dishes they want to make. This is because we believe that the restaurants we are developing are not a part of the “calorie industry” which simply fills empty stomachs. They belong to the “leisure-type eating out industry.” When someone wants to eat sushi they go to a sushi restaurant. When someone wants to eat yakiniku they go to a yakiniku restaurant. In the same way when they want to eat chicken they go to Kuruma. We want our customers to come to our restaurants with these kinds of objectives. There will always be sushi restaurants, udon restaurants, soba restaurants, and tempura restaurants in Japan. In the same way I want our chicken restaurants Kuruma and Tori Kagura and our teppan restaurants Midou and Kanro to continue to exist for another 50 years and even for another 100 years. This will be made possible by authentic flavors. We will continue to create specialty restaurants that offer these authentic flavors and devotion to excellence across the board.
“If we try we can do it, we can definitely do it! Nothing is impossible.”
This is what I am constantly saying to each and every one of our employees.
| 2016 number of specialty businesses | 7 businesses | |
| No. of stores | 95 stores | |
| Annual sales | 10.0 billion yen |
Restaurants specializing in certain ingredients: chicken dishes, yakiniku, sushi ...
Restaurants specializing in certain types of cooking: teppanyaki, kushikatsu, charcoal-grilled food on sticks ...
Four Principles for Success
1. Declare your goals.
2. Create a detailed plan.
3. Continuously implement it. (Be a master of yourself.)
4. Never ever give up.
Definitely achieve your goals!
Idea Co., Ltd. owner Tsutomu Yodoi
Hello, I am the Representative Director of Idea, Michi Yodoi.
Thank you for visiting the Idea Co., Ltd. recruitment information web page. Let me say a few words regarding the company you are looking at. The first Idea restaurant, the charcoal-grilled Miyazaki chicken restaurant Kuruma opened in 1986 was modeled after the restaurant originally operated by my mother and older brother in Miyazaki. They were evicted due to the expansion of a national highway and had to close the restaurant once, but my husband, the biggest fan of the restaurant and owner of Idea made his aspirations into reality and the torch was lit once more in Osaka. Neither the Jidori (chicken) brand nor Miyazaki Jidori were known in Osaka, but the newly-born Kuruma built its reputation through word of mouth and customers increased one by one.
Representative Director of Idea
It took 15 years from the opening of the first restaurant to the increase to five restaurants, but Idea, having advanced one step at a time, does not see meaning simply in “increasing the number of restaurants” or “increasing sales.” Our customers have helped us grow and we want them to feel great satisfaction in the size we have attained, which is just right for us. As a result, in 2006 we were able to grow our total sales to 1.65 billion yen, our total number of employees to 280 (86 permanent employees) and total number of restaurants to 12 (with six more to be opened.) In that period we stopped twice to look back at our progress with all of our employees, to build a company that would grow without becoming bloated. While we belong to the leisure-type eating out industry, I think we must continue to be a company that develops human resources. In order to pour energy into the education and leveling up of our full-time and casual employees, we invite external instructors to hold study sessions and proactively conduct employee training. For example, we conduct everything from management seminars, wine lectures, and training of new casual employees to service projects with casual employee leaders, lectures for obtaining health supervisor certificates, chef licenses, and sommelier certificates, so our work place is an ideal environment for those who want to obtain a license. Working towards 10 billion yen in annual sales and the development of seven new business types by 2016, let us combine everyone’s experience in Japanese food, sushi, tempura, French food, Italian food, Chinese food etc. and Idea’s know-how to create specialty restaurants! Of course, we openly welcome those that have changed careers from other fields. To those that possess the spirit to challenge themselves and are not bound by their own limits: please knock on Idea’s door.
The voices of our seniors are the shape of everyone’s futures. Will you begin walking the path with us?
Idea Co., Ltd. President Michi Yodoi
