Matsushin President Kuniko Yamada, left, and her staff stand outside the restaurant in Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture, in this recent photo. (Mainichi/Keiichi Sugiyama)

       ISAHAYA, Nagasaki -- A the end of July, a beloved family restaurant here will draw a final curtain on 53 years of history, succumbing to the coronavirus pandemic, a lack of a successor to take over the business, and the inexorable deterioration of the building itself.

       Third-generation Matsushin owner Kuniko Yamada, 59, told the Mainichi Shimbun, "It's a decision I came to after looking far down the road. But until we shut the doors for good, I want to stay open every day, running on all cylinders."

       Matsushin opened in July 1968 as a drive-in eatery along National Route 34 in Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture. Its founder Shinichi Matsuo, Yamada's late grandfather-in-law, had been running a butcher in Sasebo, also in Nagasaki Prefecture, before taking the plunge into the restaurant business. At the time, there were very few local places serving Western food, and it became a popular spot to celebrate special occasions. Five years later, the drive-in was replaced with the 100-seat restaurant with parking for 24 cars that is there today.

       Since its founding, Matsushin's menu mainstays have been its famed beef bowl (700 yen, or about $6.30), steaks, hamburger steaks, and other beefy dishes, mostly in the 1,000-yen to 2,000-yen (about $9-18) price range. It once aired catchy commercials with the jingle, "Beef tengoku Maaatsuuushiiin" (Beef paradise Matsushin), and the meat on the plates met this boast, with hamburger steaks weighing in at 160 grams -- a weight class above any of the restaurant's competitors. And they were delicious, the work of two dedicated chefs in their 60s.

       Matsushin didn't just satisfy with its servings, but strove to remain rooted in the community. It used plenty of local ingredients for its salad bar, and the rice dishes, miso soup, and pickled vegetables of its Japanese set meals were tremendously popular. It was so popular that it continued to flourish from Matsuo's time through two more generations.

       The restaurant building, however, is beginning to show its nearly 50 years. There are rain leaks, and the sinks and other equipment are deteriorating, among other problems. On top of that, Yamada was having trouble finding someone to take over after she retires. And then came the coronavirus pandemic, which kept customers away and caused sales to tumble by about 30%.

       When Yamada put up a notice on the restaurant website that Matsushin would be closing, the online response was tremendous. "Are you really closing?" messages flooded in. Managing director Susumu Matsui, 60, said, "I'm so happy at how much the customers love this place. I want to give them the taste of homemade food until the very end."

       (Japanese original by Keiichi Sugiyama, Isahaya Local Bureau)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0