BEER STAND Stoop – Interview with the Owner

BEER STAND Stoop is owned and operated by a former employee of Blue Magic.  When selecting the area in Tokyo for his bar, he looked for an area that desperately lacked craft beer and he found it in Unoki (鵜の木).  BEER STAND Stoop may only have five taps, but it’s becoming a smash hit with locals living on the Tokyu Tamagawa Line.

Taihei: Just wondering what is the relationship between the name of BEER STAND Stoop and the logo of the cat?

Hidaka-san:  Stoop=(nekoze)猫背.  I often slouch in this way.  That is all.  lol

(Editor’s note:  Nekoze is the way your back slouches when you stand due to bad posture, similar to looking at your smartphone)

For the logo, I wanted to make one with an animal, and I thought what animal would best represent me, “stoop = nekoze = neko”.

The logo was created by TOA.  The soft feeling of the logo matches the feeling of my shop so I was happy about that.

Taihei: In your beer stand, are you aiming more towards domestic or foreign beers?

Hidaka-san:  We have domestic beers on tap and imported beers in bottles and cans for sale.

We have good connections with breweries in Japan and would like our customers to get to know them, but we are also very excited about foreign beers too.  So we focus on both domestic and foreign as we like both of them.

Taihei: You opened your bar in an area that is lacking craft beer and prices could be troubling for some patrons, what do you think needs to be done in the industry to educate new drinkers to justify the price point?

Hidaka-san:  So many of our customers say “Damn that’s expensive!” lol

It’s hard to reduce the price any further as it would put a strain on our day to day operations…

For the price of a beer, I would say in includes the atmosphere of the bar and that would help make our customers feel at ease.

My thinking is that if we can buy good beer, and we continue to enjoy it, we can contribute a little to the industry as a whole.

I’m still not there yet, but I’ll do my best.  lol

Taihei: What are some of the challenges operating BEER STAND Stoop in your area?

Hidaka-san:  I’m more concerned with my own operations than the challenges of the Unoki area.

“Don’t get stuck in a rut” is what I say to myself.

I run the shop by myself, and doing the same thing day in and day out causes bad habits, but trying new beers and interacting with people in the neighbourhood helps keep things fresh.

Taihei:  What was the most positive comment that you heard from a customer about BEER STAND Stoop?

Hidaka-san:  “This shop has helped me come to love beer.”

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