To make ends meet, these Little Tokyo restaurants are embracing social media (with some help)

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LOS ANGELES TIMES
BY LUCAS KWAN PETERSON

In 1976, the year the restaurant Kouraku opened on East 2nd Street in Little Tokyo, Gerald Ford was president. Nadia Comaneci scored seven perfect 10s at the Montreal Olympic Games and Patty Hearst was sentenced to prison for bank robbery. Social media and online food ordering were decades away.

Now, with the coronavirus pandemic decimating foot traffic and revenue, decades-old businesses are taking unprecedented steps to stay afloat, including offering delivery for the first time and using social media to broadcast their message: We’re still here, and we need your help to keep going.

Last week, Kouraku owner Hiroshi Yamauchi, 67, dove headfirst into the world of social media: “This is my first official post on THE Facebook,” he wrote on Kouraku’s Facebook page. “And yes this analog only old man, thanks to the help of young people is finally on social media.” READ MORE

Press, Los Angeles TimesKristen Lemcoronavirus, social media, restaurantsComment