Tokyo Tales #3: Mana Yamada
Mana Yamada, the board director of FABALA co.ltd, is very much clear about what makes our every day better & happier, which is emotional fulfillment.
Q: How many years has your business been here in Nihonbashi?
Our company, FABALA is 11 years old & has managed Caffe Borsa for 7 years in the same building. It was just a great luck to have been able to tenant in the first floor of our head office building.
Q: What is your impression on Nihonbashi, which is basically known as a big office district?
The comparison with its neighboring area Ginza might help you better understand. In my opinion, Nihonbashi has been the place where the old welcomes a few pieces of new while Ginza is more driven by the new replacing the old stuff.
Q: Who are the main customers at your cafe? & is there any concept out there?
Office workers in the area. And recently we're seeing more foreign tourists as well.
The idea behind it is offering a peaceful & relaxing space for those stressed workers.I'm genuinely concerned about the high level of stress we Japanese have had in our society.
Probably, we Japanese are not good at taking a break effectively in order to work more productively. So I'd like them to come here to be reset or empty-minded with a cup of coffee, like I intentionally do every day!
Q: What did you learn from your 7 years of experience? Especially nowadays, running a cafe is becoming even tougher, I guess.
From the beginning we were not aiming to be like a brand chain cafe, where people come and go in a hurry. I mean, at a cafe like us, customers come when they come, but not every day.
it's gonna be mentally tough once you're obsessed with counting the customers every single day. Needless to say, the more the better.
However, what I've felt over the years is the significance of maintaining such a place, where people can unload their stress in the middle of or at the end of their busy days.
Q: What do you recommend from Caffe Borsa's menu?
As being a coffee shop, we'd like you to try our coffee, of course. We take pride in comfortable bitterness & authentic sweetness which naturally come from our properly roasted beans.
Another item selling well recently is Amino Go, halal-certified organic energy boosting drink.
As you can imagine, we don't use any preservatives or chemical stuff that could negatively affect our body. Its main ingredients are fermented germinated brown rice & water, with no artificial sweeteners.
Q: What is your mid or long-term goal?
My mid-term goal is to penetrate into the global market, specifically Mid-, South-East Asia & Europe. It's been two years since we started taking part in international trade fairs in those areas & we're gradually getting better reactions.
Considering our extended product lineup which highlights being organic, health-conscious & halal-certified, establishing our presence out there should have a greater priority.
Personally, it couldn't be better if I could deliver my motto "Being thankful for the moment" through our products.
I believe that emotional fulfillment is an engine to our better quality of life and equal to the happiness we feel.
Caffe Borsa
Info
Hours
Open: 8am-5pm
Close: Weekends / Holidays
Access
2 min walk from Nihonbashi Sta.
Tokyo Metro Ginza or Tozai Line
Social
@fabala.fabala
@cafe_borsa
@fabala_japan
Produced by 3e-Tokyo PR