A businessman talks about his memories with the founder of the Japanese restaurant “Hakuunkaku”

Connecting the hearts of people gathered through hospitality through food. This is the ``essence'' of our company's business, which has been going back to Hakuunkaku, the predecessor of Riviera Tokyo, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Because we are in the food and beverage industry, we are here today thanks to the support of everyone in the food industry.
Hiroshi Fujita, former managing director of Asahi Breweries (currently a friend of the company), is one of the people in charge of business partners who knows about the era of founder Asazo Horie. ``President Horie has the feel of an old samurai who is free-spirited, and I think he is a kind person who makes decisions very quickly and captures people's hearts.''
Asahi Beer, which was born in Suita, Osaka, decided to expand into the Kanto region due to the dissolution of the zaibatsu after the war, and around 40, when Mr. Fujita joined the company, there were many restaurants in Tokyo's restaurant industry that sold Asahi Beer. Apparently there wasn't.
``Our customers around Ikebukuro are one Chinese restaurant and one liquor store.If this wasn't enough, we decided to go to Hakuunkaku, the largest and most prestigious restaurant in the area. I visited the company with the intention of breaking things down, but President Horie not only met with me in a friendly manner, but he also engaged in business negotiations, and since then he has become a major customer of our company.Since then, we have maintained a relationship of trust for many years.
No matter how much I tried to make sales calls, I was still turned away at the door. Whenever we headed to Hakuunkaku, he would always say, ``What, I got rejected again? I can't help it.'' President Horie, who encouraged me by telling me, ``Don't mess up,'' was a caring person and an ally to the weak. Although he was in charge of other areas, he was looking forward to going to Ikebukuro. Hakuunkaku, which has a lot of momentum, was a huge consumer center for our company, and we were able to meet President Horie. I looked forward to hearing the president's opinion, and I still have the deepest respect for him."

At that time, Hakuunkaku had a foot guard who would first guide guests to the public bath. It's a stylish style where you can admire the waterfall, relax in the hot springs, and then have a party. ``When I visited him in the middle of summer, he asked me to take a bath.When I declined because I was at work, he handed me a towel and told me that I would be so sweaty that I wouldn't be able to go to the next business. For example, during the Yugawara development project, I delivered a condolence visit in a refrigerated truck to President Horie, who was taking command of the project while sweating profusely.As expected from a beer company, I just laughed. …He was a person full of humanity.”
As time passed, during the Great East Japan Earthquake, Asahi Breweries, Ltd. continued to deliver to Riviera, despite a series of suspensions and scheduled shipments. Even after Horie passed away and Mr. Fujita retired from the front lines, we continue to do business with them with great compassion. Many thanks!