世界でも最も有名なCoworking Spaceの一つであるNew Work City(NWC) の創業者トニー・バシガルーポさんが来た時に、PAX Coworkingの感想をブログに書いてくれました。ここに紹介します。
パクチーハウスおよびPAX Coworkingについて書かれているところを引用します。全文はこちらからどうぞ。
Stop #4: Paxi House, Tokyo
If the spaces I’ve visited so far occupy one end of the spectrum, Paxi House is holding it down at the other end. Paxi House is beautiful and unique, most notably because it is both a restaurant (on the second floor) and a coworking space (on the third floor). Owner Kyo Satani met us there on a whim at around 10:00pm, when the restaurant was surprisingly completely packed. We ate and drank while standing around some barrels in the middle of the restaurant, which seemed to be designed as overflow space when all the tables are taken.
Before I knew what was happening, Kyo had three giant mugs of beer ready for us.
This place was undoubtedly the closest thing to New Work City in Tokyo. Except they serve amazing food.
The upstairs space was warm, casual, and cozy. There were lots of whiteboards, art, and cool random things laying around. The space stood in stark contrast to the carefully planned and meticulously implemented spaces I had visited so far.
Nobody was working in the space upstairs this late in the evening, but I got the distinct impression that most if not all of the people eating at the restaurant were regulars in the community.
Seeing Paxi House combine restaurant and coworking space was an eye opening experience. To succeed and compete with their franchise chain counterparts, small cafes and restaurants must develop a strong following and a healthy community around their spaces. When we were coworking at Gramstand, I learned firsthand how Richard, the owner, had found success in developing a robust culture around his cafe. He lamented seeing fellow small businessowners on his block struggling to get anyone in the door, pointing out that they failed to understand that really getting customers meant more than putting an ad in the paper.
It was a very Cluetrain conversation, and the principle pervades in coworking spaces as well. Coworking space owners would do well to pay close attention to how these existing businessowners find success, not to mention how they cope with their small scale.
Paxi House takes this analogy to the extreme by actually being both a small restaurant and coworking space. I would love to see more places like this popping up and succeeding.
I almost didn’t make it to Paxi House and am so glad Ichi and Kyo made it happen!