INTERVIEW

BERG
Deputy Manager Naoko Sakokawa

BERG is a self-service beer restaurant and café located 15 seconds from the East Exit of JR Shinjuku Station. BERG started out as a café in 1970, and we significantly refurbished it in 1990. Given that it began as a café, we focused on coffee, and shifted to a beer restaurant and café after seeing potential in low cost, self-service fast food given the convenient location within Shinjuku Station. July 25, 2018 marked our 28th anniversary, and we have opened the restaurant to photographers and artists for use as a gallery, displaying different works every month. We currently have approximately 40 employees, 12 of whom are full-time. We publish a monthly newspaper called BERG Tsushin, and also sell original BERG merchandise such as t-shirts, tote bags, and mugs.
　We are open all year except for the three days a year when the station building itself is closed. In general, everything on our menu is available throughout the day. You can drink beer in the morning or eat cake at night. We initially targeted office workers, but we now have customers from all walks of life, and of different ages and nationalities. Foreign guests are accustomed to the style of our restaurant, so there are usually no major issues despite the language barrier. Bringing different types of people is in keeping with Shinjuku’s diverse culture.
　Having been in business for 28 years, we have customers who have been coming since they were college students. We have seen them bring their children, and even seen their children grow up. We have many regular customers as well. It’s an interesting feeling. People can be strongly connected even in an ever-changing place like Shinjuku. We have customers who drop by randomly as well as those who are brought here by our regular customers. Lately, more customers have been finding out about us on social media. In Shinjuku, restaurants come and go, but there are actually many like us that have a long history and deep roots in the area. So it would be nice if people casually drop by.