On days when the bar is closed, I often find myself suddenly thinking about our guests. When I’m spending some nice time somewhere or enjoying a delicious meal, I can’t help but think that a certain guest would surely love this flavor, or that I’d love to chat with them about it at the bar next time.

We often hear the saying that “people who love drinks are never truly bad,” and after standing behind the counter for a long time, I’ve come to feel something very close to that. The fact that your faces naturally come to mind even when I am away from the bar and spending time in my private life must mean that our everyday moments together are truly comforting to me.

The people we meet through drinks come from all sorts of backgrounds in terms of professions and ages. Even so, as we share a glass and exchange words in the same space, there are moments when our hearts connect in a wonderful way. Imagining how those people might be doing right now, during a busy workday or a quiet moment on a holiday, has become a very precious time for me.

The doors of the bar will open again tomorrow. What kind of stories will I get to hear the next time someone visits? Thinking about things like that while quietly gazing at the bottles on the shelf makes for a rather nice holiday afternoon.