Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Retro Concept Pitch
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh my, Woo-yeon~. What brings you here?"
As soon as Han Mi-ae stepped into the office, her eyes sparkled as she quickly looked around.
Now that they'd met several times a week while she was learning to cook, she spoke pretty casually.
"The office is decorated so nicely!"
"Isn't it?"
When I grinned, Han Mi-ae nodded repeatedly.
"And who's this?"
"This is Joyruk. He'll be working with us from now on. Joyruk, this is the owner of the main Happiness Snacks branch. It's also the brand we'll be building together going forward."
Joyruk bowed deeply once more, his posture rigid.
"It's an honor to meet you!"
"Oh my. Such an enthusiastic young man. Nice to meet you too."
Han Mi-ae gave an awkward smile as she shook his hand. She seemed a bit burdened by his formal demeanor.
The difference in their personalities as owners was stark.
"Have a seat over here."
"Okay."
Having two meetings in one day was a bit tiring, but I didn't let it show as I opened the PPT.
Joyruk had seen it once before, but he still set up the laptop perfectly. He really was on top of things.
"Did you look over the planning document I sent ahead of time?"
"Yeah, I did... but..."
Han Mi-ae hesitated for a moment before being upfront.
"I like the idea of unifying the interior with Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap 0212. Since we're becoming sister brands now. And since they're in the same neighborhood, it'll be fun for customers to see."
As I nodded along, she added one more thing.
"But..."
Good. Here's the main point.
"It's this 'retro' concept."
Han Mi-ae rolled her eyes anxiously, as if debating my idea was too intimidating. Her gaze naturally drifted toward Joyruk.
Hmm.
"You, Joyruk, right? What do you think, Joyruk? Do young people these days like this kind of thing?"
"M-Me?"
"Take a look. Please? I'm curious about a third-party opinion."
"Ahem. Excuse me for a moment, then..."
Joyruk took the materials from Han Mi-ae. I'd included plenty of reference images, so he probably instantly grasped what I meant by 'retro.'
"Ah~. So this vibe. How should I put it... like a street food stall?"
"Exactly."
He'd nailed my intention.
"This kind of design evokes nostalgia for adults and freshness for the young. Perfect for targeting both."
"Don't young people these days prefer something cleaner and more stylish? This street stall feel might appeal more to folks like us aunties and uncles."
I shook my head at Han Mi-ae's words.
"Trust me. Sleek restaurants? Sure, there's demand and supply for that. But our target audience is completely different."
When I gestured, Joyruk advanced to the first slide of the prepared PPT.
"Our brand's core motto is 'a place anyone can stop by on their way home.' For students, a quick tteokbokki bite with friends after school. For adults, some chicken feet and a shot of soju after work."
To make that happen, one essential element was needed.
"For a restaurant aiming for high volume and low margins, the barrier to entry has to be low."
"Barrier?"
"Not a literal threshold, but minimal psychological resistance from customers."
It's the same reason a spotless, stylish building with elegant English script signage in cursive feels intimidating to walk into.
Consumer hesitation is determined once by the storefront and again by menu prices.
"Hapjae Neighborhood Gukbap 0212 succeeded quickly because of exactly that. Clean but approachable exterior, reasonable prices visible from outside, sparking thoughts like, 'Huh, prices look good here. Shall I check it out?'"
"I see...!"
"Happiness Snacks will use the same approach."
Friendly exterior, affordable prices.
Do that, and curious customers will wander in. The real game starts after that.
"But if we price too low, margins won't cover costs... Will it be okay?"
Han Mi-ae asked worriedly. Yeah, I figured she'd bring that up.
That's why I came prepared.
"Alright. Let's run a simulation. Let's say you're a customer passing by, spotting the cheap price promo, getting curious, and coming in for the first time."
"Uh, okay. Got it."
She played along well with the sudden role-play.
"After the customer sits at a table, we'd hand over the menu like this, right?"
"Ah!"
I pulled out the prepared menu and handed it to Han Mi-ae.
It featured the Happiness Snacks logo with a mix of yellow and red—exuding street snack vibes while harmonizing with spicy chicken feet.
"When did you make this?"
She couldn't hide her surprise. When? I rushed it yesterday.
Which meant I had to dump a pile of books on Joyruk and leave him hanging.
"I went out yesterday to scout interior ideas and stopped by a print shop."
"Wow, printed like this, it looks so much classier...!"
Han Mi-ae kept marveling, unable to tear her eyes from the menu. Her childlike excitement at the new toy made me smile involuntarily.
"I thought you just went out for fun yesterday..."
"What was that, Joyruk?"
"Hup. N-Nothing."
Ho ho. So that's what you thought.
I narrowed my eyes, and Joyruk cleared his throat awkwardly, avoiding my gaze.
"Anyway. Owner Han? Pretend you're a first-time customer—take a look at the menu?"
Rustle.
Han Mi-ae opened the menu.
"Wow~. It's so neat."
"Right?"
"The photos look delicious. Ingredients are well-explained, even allergen labels... Not your first rodeo, huh?"
She added that her current printed menu at the shop felt embarrassing.
"Of course, for rushed seasonal adds, you could do that. But stick to this as much as possible. Easy-to-scan menus speed up ordering, boosting table turnover."
"Wow. You have to think about even that?"
"That's why we're here, right?"
Han Mi-ae looked at me with touched eyes, then snapped back to the menu.
"Basic snacks plus chicken feet. Simple lineup."
"Since you're handling the kitchen solo, fewer items are better. I'd trim more, but we need the standard snack shop variety, so this is the minimum."
"Should I say thanks?"
She smiled faintly, stroking the menu.
"People get attached to little things. Each of these menus feels like my own kids."
How could I not understand that?
I felt the same when running my business. When a new menu item I'd slaved over got ignored, it hurt like my kid was being snubbed.
"Getting sentimental with age. Right?"
"It's good for an owner to feel attached to their food. No need to downplay it."
"Haha. Thanks for saying so."
I meant it.
Han Mi-ae composed herself and looked back at the menu.
"You've seen all the items?"
"Yeah."
"If you were a customer, what would you order?"
"Me? Uh, well..."
She pondered, scanning the menu.
"Not super hungry since lunch hasn't settled, but for lunch, I'd go for a snack set."
"See?"
"Yeah. But why?"
"Think about it. You definitely walked in thinking, 'Tteokbokki for this price? What a steal!'"
Yeah, yeah. Han Mi-ae nodded.
"But you ordered the set, not solo tteokbokki."
"Well... You can't just get tteokbokki alone stingily, right? Gotta add fritters and sundae."
"Exactly."
Snap—I flicked my fingers.
"Huh?"
"That's why lowering the entry barrier matters."
I explained to the still-confused Han Mi-ae.
"Solo tteokbokki is a 'loss leader.' It draws eyes and sparks curiosity. Once seated, most customers spend more than planned."
Come for cheap pork ribs, leave craving premium cuts. Human nature.
Seeing begets desire—upon seeing, desire arises. Staring at the menu, the initial "eat cheap" goal fades, replaced by "want more" or "something tastier."
"So owners' worries like 'selling this cheap won't hit the average ticket—what to do?' are mostly pointless."
Of course, don't make the bait absurdly cheap or skimp on other items, forcing bait-only orders.
Adjust by monitoring bait vs. main item ratios and tweaking issues.
"I see...!"
Han Mi-ae marveled once more.
"As expected, Woo-yeon thinks on another level. Right?"
She sought agreement from Joyruk beside her. But the one supposed to answer...
"...Joyruk?"
Was staring at me blankly.
Like he'd never seen such a monster before.