"Ask Beau"
17th anniversary of True Sake, 15th anniversary of the Newsletter, and 14th anniversary of SAKE DAY … are you proud?”
A week ago an industry sake person came in the store and tried to determine how “Organic” our sake selection looked. She was new to the sake industry coming from the wine side and tried to convince me that “Organic” sake was the future. Oh really?
It’s pretty funny when customers come into the store and say “Are you guys new?” or “How long have you been open here?” They all pretty much freak when we tell them. “No way!” “I don’t believe it!” “I’ve walked by here for years and have never noticed you.” Is this longevity a source of pride? You bet! I means a lot to us. Retail is tough. Small business is tough. Selling a unique niche item is tough. But peddling in the sake business has been a delight! And our greatest sense of pride comes in the fact that we continue to try to do things better.
It’s been an honor and a privilege serving the sake world for closing in on two decades. But we can and we must do better. The sake industry is in competition with all alcoholic beverages in a cutthroat business environment where most don’t make it in the long run. So we continually try to reinvent ourselves to keep sake fresh, fun, and unique. The product is so good that the only problems with sake come from the folks in the industry. If we aren’t selling more than it is our fault not the fault of this amazing libation.
So landmarks and anniversaries are a reminder to do better, and we will strive even harder for the betterment of sake. It’s up to us to lead the way and I am reminded of the words of Basil King who once said, “Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.” We look forward to being bold for the next 17 years and beyond.
The point is we never get tired learning about sake. Each customer is another story, another expression, and another player in the performance called the sake market. We use and reuse information to help everybody better understand this amazing and mystical ancient libation. So don’t feel weird when we ask, “What are you going to do with that Junmai?” Because in all likelihood your answer will educate us, and that is awesome.