A Japanese restaurant is preparing to open in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, despite rising costs and ongoing pressures in hospitality. We look at what this means for local jobs, the city’s evolving food scene, and how international cuisines continue to shape dining choices.
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00:00The hospitality sector in Birmingham's feeling the squeeze, costs are rising, jobs are down and closures keep coming.
00:07But not everywhere is folding. In the jewellery quarter, a new Japanese restaurant is setting up.
00:13On its own, it's another restaurant, but it speaks to something wider.
00:17Even in tough conditions, people are still taking risks. They're betting there's appetite for something different.
00:23So what does this tell us about demand, resilience and the state of the local economy?
00:28Restaurants are dropping left, right and centre. Margins are getting tighter.
00:32All the prices are going up, especially chicken and poultry.
00:35So we need to make sure what we do is we utilise everything. We don't waste anything.
00:41And then the bottom line's good. So with that, that allows us to make a good profit margin.
00:47So we can enter the market confident that even if we're not especially busy, we still have a good breakeven point.
00:57Birmingham's known for its food scene, but it's not just about curry and chips anymore.
01:02Diners here are after more variety, more global flavour.
01:06Whether it's Korean barbecue, Thai street food or ramen, it's not a trend, it's a shift.
01:11And it's that shift that's bringing new ideas to the table.
01:14But in a city where eating out isn't always cheap, how much of this is driven by real demand?
01:20What do people really want to eat and why?
01:22I think a lot of the driver is cost. I think it's not necessarily new places to go, but just places that people can go and afford to eat.
01:29A good price point for what it is is always good. I think in Birmingham there is a lot of choice already, but there's a lot of chains.
01:36And I can't necessarily speak for everyone, but I know for myself, I like it when there's new independent restaurants, especially people that have like come from other countries and they're serving quite authentic cuisine.
01:46That tends to be a big pull.
01:47I think it's got to be appealing and it's got to be for everyone, not just one sort of, you know, like food general place should be a bit of everything and plus priority as well, because not everyone can afford priority foods and, you know, going out for meals as well.
02:01Launching a restaurant isn't just about passion anymore. It's about mathematical survival, energy bills, staff wages, stock costs, all climbing.
02:10So if you're opening something new, you'd better have a plan. Some are cutting menus. Others are banking on taikawai sales. Some are changing suppliers or doubling down on prep.
02:21But with so many unknowns, what's the formula? We want to know how the business is still opening now.
02:27Reckon they can make it work and what it tells us about the state of hospitality more broadly.
02:32I mean, first of all, it's financial issues. We've got to come up with quite a lot of money.
02:36We're a small independent business. So we've done this via crowdfunding and we got a grant from Birmingham Council.
02:41We've employed local builders and stuff like that, which has been great.
02:44We've created a good net worth of people, which I was a little bit hesitant. You know, how do we break into this market?
02:51It's all about being as social as possible, getting to know as many small businesses and really networking, which has been something I've enjoyed doing.
02:59We've enjoyed doing.