After climbing the stairs, we enter a large door that is over two meters high. The interior is a retro Showa-era space with a tarnished ceiling, a weathered wooden counter, and brick-like interior.
The founder, Kiyoshi Nitani (75 years old), named the restaurant after a sheriff in a Western movie. He wanted to create a place where people could gather and be trusted like a sheriff.
After graduating from Kyoto Sangyo University, he spent four years learning how to make coffee at restaurants and coffee shops in Kyoto. In July 1974, he opened the Hashidate store in Monju, Miyazu City, Kyoto Prefecture. After expanding to multiple stores, he opened the Fukuchiyama store in December 1982, and it is the only one that is currently open.
To keep regular customers from getting bored, he regularly reviews all of his menu items. He creates his own recipes based on photos cut out from magazines and newspapers. It takes a year to complete all of the approximately 100 menu items. "If I don't think it's delicious, I can't serve it to customers," he says, and sometimes continues making prototypes after closing time until the early hours of the morning.
On the day of the interview, I ordered the omelet rice set (1,320 yen) from their signature menu. When I cracked the fluffy soft-boiled egg with a spoon, the chicken rice, full of flavor, appeared. The ingredients are simple - bacon, onion, and green pepper - but each flavor spread throughout my mouth with each bite.
"Customers always feel more familiar when they talk to you face-to-face." While the number of self-service cafes is increasing, they value face-to-face customer service.
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Coffee House Hoang Kang
3-7-2 Shinooshinmachi, Fukuchiyama City, Kyoto Prefecture. 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Their Neapolitan (990 yen) and various parfaits (from 1,210 yen) are also popular. They also offer a daily lunch (1,100 yen) except on Sundays and holidays.
