Interview with Hiroyuki Nakamura, staff member at Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo
We spoke with Hiroyuki Nakamura of Maruyasu Co., Ltd., which operates Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo, about the shop’s history, its commitment to its products, and its aspirations for the future.
Founded in the mid-1960s. It started out as a supermarket tenant
When did the shop first open?
Nakamura
At first, we were a butcher shop operating as a supermarket tenant.
My grandparents started the business in the mid-1960s.
After that, we opened tenant shops in several supermarkets.
We also began wholesaling meat.
Eventually, in addition to my grandparents, my father (the current representative), my uncle (my father’s younger brother), and my aunt (my father’s younger sister) also started helping out.
However, we closed all our tenant shops in the early 1990s.
Then we opened the Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo shop.
Since then, we have continued operating both the shop and our wholesale business.
The second-generation owner learned about ham and sausages in Tokyo
It seems you also focus on processed meat products such as ham and sausages. When did you start making them?
Nakamura
My father started it.
We couldn’t compete with other shops by selling meat alone, so he trained at a famous shop in Tokyo and learned meat-processing techniques.
We make our own ham, sausages, bacon, and other products.
We do not use additives, such as color fixatives.
Actually, “Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo” was the brand name for our homemade ham and sausages back when we were a supermarket tenant.
When we opened our own shop, we used the brand name as the shop’s name.
We started making prepared foods such as croquettes and minced-meat cutlets in my grandmother’s time, and my aunt (my father’s younger sister) has carried on the tradition.
In fact, at a German Butchers’ Association competition held in 2019, our frankfurters and bacon won gold awards!
My father has spent many years researching meat processing, and I think this is the result.
I hope you’ll give them a try.
Standing out from other shops with homemade processed foods and premium meat
There are many large supermarkets nearby. How do you compete with them?
Nakamura
We used to sell a wide range of meat, from affordable cuts to premium meat, but we can’t compete with supermarkets and the like on affordable meat.
So, to set ourselves apart, we sell quality meat cut to order according to customers’ requests.
For wagyu, we carry A4- and A5-grade meat.
I think focusing on our homemade processed meat products, as I mentioned earlier, also helps us stand out.
Most customers are local, but some come from far away
What kinds of people make up most of your customer base?
Nakamura
Most of our customers are local.
That said, among local residents, I think people who have moved here are more likely to become fans than those who have lived here for a long time.
There are many new residential areas and company housing complexes around our shop, so many people have moved here for work or relocated here.
Word of mouth from those customers has helped us grow.
Some customers also come from far away, including Okayama City and Fukuyama City.
We’re happy to hear that they’ve become fans after trying our ham, sausages, and other products.
In the future, he wants to develop a product that will become a local specialty
Hiroyuki, how did you come to start helping out at the shop?
Nakamura
My father, uncle, and aunt apparently helped my grandparents with their work from when they were young, but I didn’t help my father much.
So I wasn’t very interested in the family business, and my father didn’t seem particularly intent on having me take it over.
I only helped out a little between graduating from high school and going on to further education.
Later, when it came time to look for a job, I first thought about taking over the family business.
Even though it was the family business, it was a field I knew nothing about, so there was a lot to learn and it was difficult.
Managing freshness was also a challenge.
What would you like to do in the future?
Nakamura
Like my father, uncle, and aunt, I’d like to develop new products.
I’m better at improving or combining existing products than creating something from scratch.
So I’d like to use that strength to come up with something new.
I hope a product I come up with will become a new Kurashiki specialty.
Kurashiki doesn’t have any famous meat-based specialties.
From the Writer
We conducted the interview while the shop was closed.
Even so, customers came in to shop despite the closure.
It made me realize that this shop has a truly loyal following.
We also heard that many students stop by the eat-in area after school to eat croquettes and minced-meat cutlets, and that many elementary school students come in on their days off to buy them with their pocket money.
I hope those children will become fans of Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo’s products in the future.
Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo details
| Name | Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo |
|---|---|
| Address | 868-6 Higashitomii, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-423-0230 |
| Parking | Available |
| Hours | 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. |
| Closed | Wednesday, Sunday Open if a holiday falls on these days |
| Payment methods |
|
| Reservations | Available Products can be reserved by phone |
| Seating | 8 seats Two four-person tables |
| Smoking | Entirely non-smoking |
| Families with children | Strollers are allowed inside |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair access is possible, but there is a step at the entrance |
| Website | Nakamurasan-chi no Umaimono Kobo Official Website |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a word to search articles on this site
