Hiroki Mori

The Birth of Takase Confectionery and Itabashi Store

Takase started as a bakery in Ikebukuro in 1920. In the Showa period (1926-1989), the demand for breads and confectioneries expanded rapidly during the high growth period after the war, and that's why we came across this place, the Itabashi branch, when we were looking for a place to set up a factory. The store was opened at the same time as the factory was completed in 1966. At that time, it was just a bread store, but later, a coffee shop was opened, and in 1999, a restaurant was added, and the shop became what it is today.

There is a large factory behind the store, but all the products are sold in our own store. We do receive orders from nearby nursery schools, but all of our products, including those from the Ikebukuro and Sugamo stores, are made and sold directly from the Itabashi factory.

At the Itabashi store, we sell about 50 kinds of breads, and make about 20 kinds of fresh pastries and 20 kinds of baked goods. In addition, there is a restaurant menu. Of course, the restaurant is also handmade in the store, and each pastry and restaurant is prepared by specialized cooking staff.

In fact, the main store in Ikebukuro celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, but due to the spread of the coronavirus, we were unable to do anything, so it was a bit of a disappointing year!

Sweets from the "Coffee Corner

The fruit parfait has been on the menu since the Ikebukuro store first opened as a coffee shop, so it has a long history. It's on the menu all year round, but we try to stock the same items all year round.

In the past, Takase had a fruit parlor and a Japanese-style coffee shop in Ikebukuro, and we still have a variety of items on the menu, such as Anmitsu and Oshiruko. It may be a characteristic of Takase that you can enjoy Japanese and Western sweet flavors all at once.

For us, the fruit parfait is just another part of the coffee menu, and it's not that special.

However, if I had to say, I would say that we have always tried to use the best ice cream. We only use real ice cream with high milk fat content, not lacto ice cream or ice milk. We also use only fresh cream with pure milk fat for a light, mouthwatering flavor. We use the same ingredients for our cakes as well.

At both the Itabashi branch and the Ikebukuro main coffee shop, we have male customers who order the fruit parfait alone. There are many men who like sweets. As you can imagine, we don't offer fruit parfait to-go, so please come to our store.

The popular menu item, "Seasonal Dessert Plate," is actually an original product only available at the Itabashi branch. We change the contents of the plate based on the cakes that change with the seasons. It's a backdoor trick, but some of our regular customers seem to say, "I had that cake the other day, so please make me this cake today. In some cases, we may be able to change the cake. Please ask the staff for advice.

Different restaurants have different atmospheres and clientele, so we want to keep the originality of each restaurant in mind. I think it's okay to have an original menu for each restaurant without changing the standard menu. It seems that each restaurant has its own subtle arrangement, so if you'd like to compare them, please feel free to do so.

To continue to be there without changing

Thanks to our customers, we are loved by many regular customers, and although there is no particular secret, we would like to keep the sense of security that Takase is here.

Do not change the restaurant unnecessarily. The same goes for the menu, the taste, the store, and the staff.

At Takase, we try not to move staff between stores unless it is necessary. This is because the hall staff is the face of the store and builds relationships with customers. We want to provide our customers with a sense of security that there is always someone there to talk to, whether it is about the weather, your health condition, or news in the world.

The name of our company is Takase Confectionery, and of course, sweets and confectionery are one of the main pillars of our business, and we place importance on them. However, I believe that Takase's strength and appeal is that we have all of them, such as bread, confectionery, restaurants, and coffee shops.

I don't plan to expand or increase the number of stores in the future. We want to be a shining presence in Itabashi, Sugamo, and Ikebukuro. We want to continue to refine our stores. We want to be loved even more by improving our products, staff, and facilities.

Text and photos by Tsutomu Ogasawara