At the start of the year, business was booming for Guillaume and Chloe Duperier, co-founders of Apero. Wine Bar Aoyama in Tokyo’s Minato Ward. In fact, January was one of the busiest months since the bar, which specializes in natural wines from France, opened in 2014. However, bookings thinned in March, slowing to a trickle after Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike exhorted the public to avoid night clubs and drinking establishments late last month. Reading the writing on the wall, the Duperiers announced on March 29 that Apero. would begin offering a wine and food delivery service from March 31 until April 30.
“All of our family is in France, where everything is locked down. It’s a very hard year for the winemakers we work with,” Guillaume says over the phone. “Our guests love our wines, but tonight we have no bookings and tomorrow only two. Instead of doing nothing, we wanted to find a way to do more for our customers.”
Apero.’s wines can be ordered at a delivery discount of 30 percent, along with a selection of cheeses, charcuterie and signature dishes, such as homemade terrine, via phone or email. The bar offers free shipping via Yamato Transport for orders of ¥10,000 or more, but the team delivers most of the purchases to neighboring areas by bike free of charge.
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