Relay Column: About the Ones Who Take Advantage of the Gaps (Hana Yamamoto)

There is a shopping street where tenants come and go, closing down only to undergo numerous renovations and re-openings. At one time, there was a real estate agency; at another, there was a candy store. While some businesses like a ramen shop or a chiropractic clinic have managed to stay open long term, many stores in that shopping street end up closing after a few years, only to be replaced by a different store before one even realizes.

The shopping street used to host a great variety of shops. The gap between tenants that frequently closed and those that did not was stark. While there were some businesses that kept closing down, there were others that were long-standing. I hadn't been paying much attention to that shopping street until just the other day when I noticed that most of the shops there are now offering meat dishes. What's more, when one meat-serving shop closes, another one offering meat dishes tends to open up. Lately, the trend in the shopping street isn't dine-in restaurants, but establishments with a strong takeaway menu.