It all started with a single “confidence”.

A three-minute walk from Fuse Station.
When you pass by the store, you will be tempted to take a peek at the showcase.
Kitchen friend Rei is a delicatessen that opened in 2019. The owner, Reiji, had no experience in the restaurant business, but his mother Izumi’s fried chicken was the only thing he believed he could compete with.

No matter where I ate, there was nothing that surpassed the taste of my mother’s fried chicken.

The karaage is marinated overnight in a garlic and soy sauce-based sauce.
He wanted the people of the town to enjoy the deep-seated taste that he had enjoyed so many times at home.

It all started at a local festival called “Saturday Night Market.
The fried chicken we served at our stall was a huge hit. One customer even came back four times in one night to buy some.

He kept coming back again and again, saying, “They are so good, so good. At that time, I felt a positive response.

On that day, my mother’s taste was no longer limited to the family.
It was the moment it became someone’s “favorite taste” in the town.

Weighing after frying, a system of gentleness

The karaage at “Kitchen friend Rei” is 220 yen for 100 grams.
When you hear the price at ……, you may think it is just average. But this place is a little different.
They weigh their fries after frying them.

You might think “won’t it be heavier if it absorbs oil? But actually, the opposite is true.
Raw meat is heavy because it contains sauce and water.
However, when fried, the moisture is removed and the meat becomes lighter.
In other words, it is more economical to measure the weight after frying.

In these days of rising prices, this pricing reflects the desire to “not lose money on the customer,” even if only a little.

Raised by Fuse, paid back by Fuse

Reiji was born and raised in Fuse.
Before opening his own business, he worked at a nearby lottery ticket office.
Every day, as he walked along the shopping street, he saw the number of shutters gradually increasing.

I thought, “If things continue like this, Fuse will lose its vitality.

The store is located where his mother, Izumi, used to run “Food Shop Izumi.
Nearly 30 years had passed since she became ill and closed the shop.

But the memory of the taste remained.
The father and son worked together to put up the signboard once again.
The smell of karaage once again envelops the street as the face of the town.

The first question is, “Don’t you have any? The first question is “Do you have any?

Karaage is not the only thing we are proud of.
We also have a wide variety of prepared foods, starting with fried bean curd.
As the restaurant responded to the “selfishness” of its customers, its repertoire naturally grew.

The number of side dishes and boxed lunches available at any given time has grown to nearly 30 varieties.
In a sense, the prepared dishes here are like the “consensus of the town.

The meat and potatoes, for example, taste really ordinary, but that’s what’s good about them.”
Re iji ‘s words were laced with a hint of embarrassed pride.

Bento, too, is filled with stories.

The “mixed bento” is the most popular.
It is a hearty bento packed with fried and simmered dishes.
It was originally started by a customer who said, “I want to eat a little bit of each flavor.

The leftovers are almost always sold out before noon.
The warmth and fresh air of the lunchboxes are different from those of convenience stores.

Mother’s taste can cheer someone up.

I ate it a while ago, but I want to eat it again.”
We often receive such comments from our customers.

The reason is probably not only the taste.
It is the hands that make them and the faces of the people who receive them.
All of them create a relationship that can only be found here.

The taste of my mother’s cooking is not only served in the house.
It energizes the people of the town and supports someone’s day, just a little.