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Dinner at Gonpachi »

Joichi Ito
Nov 09, 2002 - 07:10 UTC »

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yanaihasegawa_thumb.jpg
That's Yanai-san on the left and Hasegawa-san on the right
Had dinner at Gonpachi in Nishiazabu with Hasegawa-san, the CEO of Global Dining, Yanai-san, the CEO of Pia and Jun. Jun is my chairman and an outside board member of Global Dining. I am on the outside board of Pia. Jun and I introduced the two of them over dinner a few months ago, I think. Hasegawa-san took us to Tableaux, Decadance du Chocolat and Dancing Monkey last time. (All places he runs.) Yesterday, we had sushi at Gonpachi. It was totally packed. George Bush ate at Gonpachi when he was in Tokyo. The food was great and the place is huge.

Hasegawa-san is an a amazing guy and I'm a big fan. His company, Global Dining, runs Gonpachi as well other famous chains of restaurants including Cafe La Boheme, Zest, Monsoon Cafe, etc. Global Dining also runs Tableaux, on of my favorite restaurants. Hasegawa-san has a very unique management style for Japan where most of his staff are part time, but very motivated. He has a very open and competitive management style. Global Dining is also famous for being the first company to go public in Japan without a single college graduate on the board!

It's nice beening outside board members of companies that do real things like sell concert tickets and run restaurants. ;-)

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1 Comment

01. Olivier Jeudy - Apr 08, 2003 - 10:13

Global Dining is a great company, and each of its restaurant is a concept in itself, a magnificent blend of style, food and service. The more I go to Gonpachi, Tableaux, Stellato, or La Boheme, the more I think these concepts could be successfully exported to a country like France. I am planning to introduce the Japanese dining experience to France, and Global Dining is the perfect business model. I think there's a lot to learn from Japan regarding food, restaurant design and service. Joi, you're so lucky to be on the board of GD!!!