Like the BP oil spill in the Caribbean, the tsunami in Japan has impacted the restaurant and food industry significantly. Given the specific market Japan has to offer (seafood, seaweed, kobe beef, etc.), many restaurants and markets have been impacted. The earthquake that set off the nuclear reactors resulted in “elevated levels of radiation in spinach and milk at farms up to 90 miles away…”.
It was said that the Tsukiji fish market in central Tokyo (largest in the world) was not impacted directly by the earthquake, but was impacted by the source of their food. Tohoku (coastal epicenter of the earthquake) was severely damaged, and the Tsukiji market will be closed down for a while.
A chef named Tomohito Narasaki who works at a restaurant called Sushizanmai stated that “scallops, sardines and oysters from Tohoku are no longer available… Millions of dollars’ worth of bluefin tuna, red snapper and yellowtail farmed off Tohoku was instantly destroyed.”
Given the fact that sushi is now produced world-wide and not just in Japan, fish and sushi supplies can be shipped to Japan until the damage is gone, but the overall food source for the majority of restaurants in Japan is momentarily depleted.
It will be interesting to see how Japan copes with this set back as the fish is the peoples’ primary food source. Restaurants tend to pride themselves on having the highest quality food, and when their source of food no longer exists, it puts the restaurant in a difficult situation. I found it to be very interesting that a natural disaster has the ability to cripple the food and restaurant industry to the degree that it has in Japan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/world/asia/20food.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=restaurant%20industry&st=cse
It was said that the Tsukiji fish market in central Tokyo (largest in the world) was not impacted directly by the earthquake, but was impacted by the source of their food. Tohoku (coastal epicenter of the earthquake) was severely damaged, and the Tsukiji market will be closed down for a while.
A chef named Tomohito Narasaki who works at a restaurant called Sushizanmai stated that “scallops, sardines and oysters from Tohoku are no longer available… Millions of dollars’ worth of bluefin tuna, red snapper and yellowtail farmed off Tohoku was instantly destroyed.”
Given the fact that sushi is now produced world-wide and not just in Japan, fish and sushi supplies can be shipped to Japan until the damage is gone, but the overall food source for the majority of restaurants in Japan is momentarily depleted.
It will be interesting to see how Japan copes with this set back as the fish is the peoples’ primary food source. Restaurants tend to pride themselves on having the highest quality food, and when their source of food no longer exists, it puts the restaurant in a difficult situation. I found it to be very interesting that a natural disaster has the ability to cripple the food and restaurant industry to the degree that it has in Japan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/world/asia/20food.html?_r=1&scp=4&sq=restaurant%20industry&st=cse
The article realy demonstrates how the restaurant industry is greatly affected by the environment. What is important to note is that often the industry is affected by unexpected events which could really cause a drastic change in the stock and profit of a restaurant. It will be interesting to see how the industry recovers from the aftermath of the earthquake and the tsunami because now the restaurant indusry will have to determine what will be the primmary food source for the future. Should restaurants create a "disaster plan" that may save their business in the future? Great post Jared!
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