くのっちょ
In January 2023, I revisited Tomakomai City, which ranked fourth in population in Hokkaido according to the national survey in 2020. Despite its population, there are not many so-called cafe chain stores in the city. As of the end of January 2023, there are only Starbucks Coffee and Doutor Coffee Shop in the Aeon Shopping Mall in Yanagi-cho, in addition to Komeda Coffee Shop in this Yayoi-cho. Currently, there are only four stores, including the new Starbucks Coffee store under construction in Suehiro 3-chome for an opening in spring. As mentioned earlier, the only street-front store at present is Komeda Coffee Shop Tomakomai Yayoi Store, which is quite crowded even on weekdays. One of Komeda's characteristics is its wide variety of drink menu, especially with a large lineup of cold drinks compared to other cafe chains. On the other hand, their coffee menu is not as extensive, with no espresso-based coffee options, making their menu more similar to a coffee shop rather than a cafe. Their food menu mainly consists of sandwiches and spaghetti, setting them apart from other cafe chains. I visited during a less crowded time in the afternoon on a weekday, luckily finding an available counter seat at the back of the store. This seat was a spacious counter seat facing the wall, separated by large wooden partitions every two seats, ensuring privacy from neighboring seats. There were also outlets available, making it convenient for working on a laptop. I ordered a large-sized "Plenty of Milk Coffee" and enjoyed a leisurely reading time with a paperback book I had started reading. Today's title was the final volume of the popular series "Kinryo Tsukamichou" by the popular historical fiction author Hidehito Ueda, titled "Keiso". After about an hour of reading and finishing my milk coffee, I left the store. As mentioned in the review title, a Starbucks Coffee street-front store is scheduled to open in the spring. It seems that a drive-thru will also be available, and it is located just over 2 kilometers away from this Komeda Coffee Shop Tomakomai Yayoi Store, taking less than 10 minutes by car. It would be convenient for customers if the congestion is alleviated, but the store may feel a sense of unease about the competition. ==============================◇ Plenty of Milk Coffee 600 yen