Tomoya Kawasaki owns three Japanese restaurants in Melbourne and all three were very badly hit by the COVID-19 restrictions as the operations were limited to takeaway only.
“After we became a takeaway-only business, the revenue of the three restaurants went down by about 90%. We had to close the kitchens most of the time,” Mr. Kawasaki says.
Highlights
- A Japanese food business in Melbourne has started a 'pay-it-forward' service for healthcare workers
- The business owner says he customers are donating thousands of dollars every week to buy bento boxes for nurses and doctors
- The business was struggling to survive after the COVID-19 restrictions were imposed but is now thriving because of many people paying it forward for health workers
Business slowed down to the extent that he contemplated asking for donations to keep it alive.
“But my staff said that they wanted to contribute to society in some way by using their cooking skills rather than just asking and receiving donations."
He did ask for donations, not for himself but the healthcare workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic.
"I heard about healthcare workers fighting the virus in a dangerous environment. We wanted to support them. That’s how the idea developed," Mr Kawasaki told SBS Japanese.
Pay it forward
He appealed to his customers to buy a bento - a Japanese lunchbox - for healthcare workers.
“The donations started pouring in. The first supporters were longtime patrons and fans of our restaurants," says Mr Kawasaki.
The restaurants cook bentos and deliver them to hospitals. After the delivery is completed, people who made donations are notified about who the recipient of the bento is.
The Austin Hospital's ICU nurse Junko Mishima (middle) received lunch boxes from Japanese restaurateur Tomoya Kawasaki (right). Source: Junko Mishima
Mr Kawasaki says the response to his 'pay it forward' call has been beyond expectation. In the first week, the business received over $3,000 in donations for bentos for hospital staff.
And it gained more traction every time the restaurants posted their delivery reports and photos of hospital staff with bentos on social media which has also given a new lease of life to his business that was struggling at the start of COVID-19 restrictions.
It's not just Australians who are buying lunch for Melbourne nurses and doctors.
“People in Japan are chipping in too. So my friends in Japan started sharing it on their social media. We are now receiving donations from Australia and Japan," he says.
Junko Mishima, an ICU nurse at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, is one of the healthcare workers who received a free Japanese bento.
The hospital staff were delivered 70 bentos over two days. She says it brought a smile on everyone's faces.
The ICU staff at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. Source: Junko Mishima
"Usually there is a tense atmosphere in the ICU. But the two days we received those bentos, people there had a smile on their faces, and I think the atmosphere got a bit less tense," she added.
“I think it’s remarkable that people in the hospitality industry, which is heavily hit by COVID-19, reached out to health workers like us so quickly. They must have been facing their difficulties as well."
Buoyed by the response to his call, Mr Kawasaki is now planning to extend the support platform.
“I’m still in a discussion but I hope we can deliver bentos not only to healthcare workers but also to homeless people and students who are struggling financially.”
But the real motivation, he says, is seeing the smile on the faces of those receiving bentos.
“We don’t see many smiles nowadays due to the situation. So, seeing those smiles is special and that is what motivates me the most."
