From The Peopling of New York City
Jeremy Saunders owns a Japanese Restaurant at 8012 37th Ave Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Jeffery Saunders, manager of the restaurant “Happy Kitchen” in Jackson Heights is an active member of the community. Not only a resident and business owner in the area, Mr. Saunders is a leader in the Landmarks Preservation Commission for Community Board 3. He led the final efforts to establish Jackson Heights as a historical landmark and is very informed about the community.
When I interviewed Mr. Saunders, we discussed both his efforts in Landmarks Preservation Commission and his business in Jackson Heights. We discussed in great detail his role in maintaining the historical appearance of the community, but more relevant to my topic of research was our discussion on his reasoning behind the choices in his restaurant.
When Mr. Saunders started Happy Kitchen, the Japanese restaurant was unique as compared to the existing restaurants. Unlike the other ethnic restaurants that were supported by their own ethnic groups, this restaurant was situated in a community where the Japanese population was small. When asked why he decided to choose this location, Mr. Saunders said that it was because of his familiarity with the area. Together with his wife, he started the restaurant while keeping an open ear to community input. As a result, new dishes were added to the menu but these dishes stayed consistent with the Japanese style. For example, in response to the demand of vegetarian foods by the South Asian community, Mr. Saunders added more dishes such as salads, and changed the menu to distinguish the vegetarian dishes.
An important aspect of the Happy Kitchen is its authenticity. On the menu, it quotes “Our food is authentic style – we do not mix in Chinese/Korean style.” While discussing this aspect of the restaurant with Mr. Saunders, he mentioned how this authenticity helps keep customers coming back. He described how the customers know that the food is reliable and stressed how the Happy Kitchen would not sacrifice the quality of the food to save time and money. By hiring chefs who are specialized in preparing the dishes, and by focusing only on Japanese food, the Happy Kitchen is able to provide a service that people can rely on. He told me that his customers are willing to pay the extra price because it comes with the reliability of being high quality.
When I asked Mr. Saunders his response to the diversifying menus of other restaurants to make profit, he described how these restaurants are decreasing their quality of food. Now, as restaurants try to incorporate new dishes to satisfy a broader ranger of people, the cooks aren’t able to provide the quality to the new dish. He mentioned how such practices change the authenticity of the food because these restaurants try save money by combining styles. For example, as a new dish with beef is added, a restaurant will believe that they can use the same beef from a previous dish to make the new dish. Such practices ignore the subtle differences that make the dish unique and thus decrease the authenticity of it. In trying to appeal to everyone, restaurants lose quality as a whole.
Though the Happy Kitchen has its roots in authenticity and quality, Mr. Saunders described how the new additions of the dishes appeal to the second-generation children over the first generation immigrants. For example, in the Happy Kitchen, curry dishes have been added to the menu in response to the Indian community but it is the second-generation children that consume the curry. In keeping the Japanese style, some changes cannot appeal to all of the customers.
Mr. Saunders was very helpful helping me see how restaurants maintain their authenticity while keeping in business. By depending on the customers who know that the service is reliable, the restaurant was able to compete alongside with the other businesses that diversify its menus. From the information gathered I was able to see one approach to how an owner would decide how to choose their dishes.