Justin, and Lea Ault are proud owners of Hapa Izakaya, one of Vancouver’s finest Japanese restaurant. It’s a pleasure for Justin to give us an insight of how Hapa Izakaya began.

Tell us about your restaurant, Hapa Izakaya.

My wife, Lea, and I first opened Hapa Izakaya on Robson Street in 2003. We’ve since expanded that location – twice – opened a second location on Yew Street in Kitsilano, and our third location in the heart of Yaletown launched just in time for the Olympics in January 2010.

Why did you start Hapa Izakaya? Where are you at now with the Hapa Izakaya chain?

When we opened on Robson Street seven years ago we wanted to take what we had learned by working and dining at the best izakaya in Japan and bring it to Vancouver. Vancouver has some of the best Asian cuisine on the continent, but we felt there was room for a more innovative approach to the izakaya that would appeal to the passionate foodies in the city. We certainly were not the first izakaya to open here, but we feel we did raise the bar with an offering that was upscale, edgy and stylish, with more elegantly presented dishes.

Today we have three locations, but we don’t call them a chain. Each location has its own distinctive feel and personality. For example, each chef at the three locations creates his own daily “fresh sheet”. This allows the chef and his team to put their own personal stamp on the menu. This gives them a lot of flexibility and creative freedom, while still working within the standards we have for all three Hapa Izakaya locations. We are not actively looking to add any more locations, but if a great opportunity presented itself, we’d certainly give it consideration.

What does Hapa Izakaya mean and how did you come up with the name?

“Hapa” means “leaf” in Japanese. The word also has special significance to Lea and I. In Hawaii, the word “hapa” means “half”, as in a person of mixed race, very common in Hawaii and increasingly in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a good word for Vancouver.

How was your life before Hapa Izakaya?

There was life before Hapa? Before opening our first restaurant Lea and I were living in Japan. A Japanese owner of 22 izakaya in and around Tokyo offered us the rare opportunity to do a “stage” – an apprenticeship at his various izakaya. My fluent Japanese enabled me to work the room, and Lea, who had been cooking since she was eight years old, trained in the kitchen learning how to cook izakaya-style dishes.

So much has changed since then. Lea and I were married in 2002, and we now have two wonderful daughters and three thriving restaurants. We thoroughly enjoy being part of the exciting and innovative restaurant community in Vancouver. It truly is a community!

Has the economic down turn affected Hapa Izakaya’s business? What made you decide to open another Hapa Izakaya in Yaletown, especially in this economy?

Not only did we open in Yaletown but we also expanded our original Robson Street location by nearly a third. Izakaya in general are set-up to thrive in this economy because it offers solid value, a great time, and a bit of an escape. Yaletown is a neighbourhood that we had always thought would be a good fit for Hapa. When an opportunity there presented itself, we didn’t hesitate. We knew the neighbourhood would welcome a unique restaurant that offered more of a personal approach than some of the larger chain restaurants already in the area.

How many hours do you work per day and what is your daily schedule like?

Well I am in Hawaii on a family vacation right now ,but generally like any small business owner, it’s pretty much a 24/7 endeavor. Restaurant-related thoughts are some of the first things I think about when waking up and when I go to sleep. Just everybody in the restaurant industry, I constantly dream/have nightmares about business. Usually nothing disastrous – more along the lines of a forgotten order. It’s not the type of business where you can put in anything less than 100%. If it’s not your life and you don’t enjoy it being your life, don’t get involved or get out quickly!

Having said that, we do try to have balance in our lives, especially when it comes to our children and our marriage. It takes a lot of effort, but anything important usually does. If I had to put a figure on how many hours in the day that I’m working, I’d have to say an average of 16 hours. Lea’s not quite as much as she’s not working in the restaurants in the evening. I’m up at 8am during the week to take the girls to school and 10am later in the week when I’m at the restaurant later. My average bedtime is probably 3am. Days consist of paperwork, email and phone calls. Evenings are at the restaurants. Sunday and Monday, like many people in the biz, are nights off from the restaurants.

What is your secret on managing all these restaurant locations?

Having a great team in place! I was so happy to read the early reviews of the new Yaletown location; we had a few media guests in immediately and they commented that they felt like the room had been open for weeks already because it was running so smoothly.

I can’t emphasize enough how important our staff are. They make our jobs – and lives – so much easier. We have very little turnover which makes a big difference. We try to look after our employees so that they don’t want to or feel the need to move on. Because we don’t have a lot of staff turnover, when we do hire a new employee, we are able to be very selective and get the best possible fit. Listening to and empowering staff goes a long way. While I can be guilty of micro-managing at times, our long term staff knows how I think and make decisions accordingly.

The first thing you notice when you walk into a Hapa restaurant is the Japanese culture. Do you try to hire people who speak Japanese, for a more authentic feel and what is your hiring process like?

While we are a Japanese izakaya, we try to be a great restaurant first and foremost. Almost all of our kitchen staff are originally from Japan. This is no accident as we feel that in order to produce food and dishes that one would eat in Japan, having chefs and cooks who grow up with the food and ingredients is very important. Our non-Japanese kitchen staff are from a variety of backgrounds but all share a passion for cooking, learning and being part of a tight, family-like team.

After about a year of being open, we realized that by hiring Japanese serving staff exclusively, we were missing out on talented servers and managers from other ethnic backgrounds. The pool of Japanese speaking “front of the house” staff in Vancouver is quite small. While there are quite a few young Japanese people here as students or on working visas, they are usually only here for a limited time and, as I mentioned earlier, we place a huge emphasis on hanging onto our staff and having low turnover in our “family”. Our guests appreciate the fact that year after year, they are greeted by familiar faces who at the very least, recognize them and in many cases, remember their names. These days, when a qualified applicant is hired who speaks Japanese, we consider it a bonus rather than a requirement. Having said that, by virtue of being the people that they are, all staff take a strong interest in learning the language and culture that is at the root of the Hapa Izakaya experience.

If you had to do it again, what would you do differently?

I can’t think of anything we would want to do differently. We are very happy with the way things have worked out. It has been a tremendously satisfying experience.

What advice would you give a young entrepreneur starting out?

Ask questions and listen. Then do it again and again. As long as you approach people at the right time, most people – especially restaurateurs – are happy to share their experiences and advice. Also, you’ve got to be fully committed to (and love) what you’re doing.

Is there anyone that you look up to and model yourself on?

For me, I’d say my dad. While pipefitting doesn’t have too much in common with the restaurant business, they are both jobs that require a lot of effort and hard work. My dad, like many in his generation, felt, “If a job was worth doing, it was worth doing right”.

Do you have any favorite business or entrepreneur related books that you can recommend to other entrepreneurs?

As silly as it sounds, we actually bought a copy of “The Idiot’s Guide To Opening A Restaurant”! There were some very useful points in it. I really enjoyed Charlie Trotter’s “On Service”. While it was more fine dining oriented, a lot of what he had to say was transferable to any restaurant or business.

What is the best advice you have been given, since you’ve started?

The customer/guest is NOT always right. If someone is being a complete jerk to one of my staff, I don’t have any problem asking them to leave. Of course, I make sure I have the facts straight before taking that step! Our staff works way too hard and care too much to allow someone to treat them rudely.

Do you think becoming an entrepreneur is something that is in your blood or be learned?

Probably a bit of both. Lea and I knew we wanted to be our own bosses even with the “cost” that comes with it. I think that your life experiences leading up to your first enterprise are the biggest influences. Working as a bellman while in university and as a stock broker in Tokyo have both contributed enormously to my ability to work in and manage our restaurants.

Where is your favorite place to eat Japanese food?

Other than Hapa and Japan? Honestly, we get enough of it with our place! However, I would recommend Dan on West Broadway and the various locations of Zakkushi (for yaki-tori “chicken on sticks”).

Any last words you would like say to DefineMag readers?

Nothing I haven’t mentioned already. Treat your employees as you would your family – do everything you can to hang on to the good ones! Love what you do. Don’t even bother trying if you plan to give it a half-hearted effort. Ask questions and for advice from people in the field that you’re considering. When you start hearing the same thing over and over, you know you’ve started to accumulate some knowledge.

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Michael Tao

Michael Tao is an entrepreneur of many startups including Define Magazine. His passion for business, and seeing things differently has led him to quitting his job and starting up his own company.

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