"CFB/CHICK FLICK BAKE" - Setagaya-Daita -
This installment of APPLE TREE features "CFB/CHICK FLICK BAKE," located just 50 seconds on foot from Setagaya-Daita Station on the Odakyu Line.
The APPLEBUM staff frequently used this restaurant for lunch and business meals with clients.
Every time we experienced the interior decorations and the music playing, we couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity, thinking, "Could it be that we share similar tastes?"
The restaurant was always bustling, so we never really had a chance to talk at length, but this time, when we boldly requested an interview, they kindly agreed.
We spoke with the owner, "Mar-kun."
He generously shared everything from the establishment of the restaurant to his encounters with music and his connection to the town of Setagaya-Daita.
・When did you start your restaurant?
“CFB/CHICK FLICK BAKE” started in 2016.
We moved to our current location in Setagaya-Daita in 2022, right during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, we operated in Higashi-Nagasaki, Toshima-ku. The restaurant itself will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.”
・Please tell us about how you started the restaurant.
“In my fourth year of university, I took a one-year leave of absence and lived in Vancouver, Canada, on a working holiday.
Just before I left, I met Shin-chan, a friend who would later become a major turning point, at a hair salon I visited. We reconnected in Vancouver.
After returning to Japan, I graduated from university and went on to graduate school.
Around the same time, I helped launch the second restaurant for a company managed by friends (Shin-chan) I had met at the hair salon.
Through that experience, I realized that to not only create a restaurant but also to properly convey its appeal, I needed knowledge and experience in sales promotion. After graduation, I joined an advertising company as a new graduate and worked there for three years.
After leaving the advertising company, I began to gain serious experience in the food and beverage industry with the aim of eventually owning my own restaurant.”
Cafes, vegan cafes, bars, hamburger shops—.
He continued to work in various types of establishments, regardless of their category, while also assisting food coordinators and food designers, and working for catering companies. He says he worked day and night, accumulating "experience points."
“To gain experience, I worked continuously in various genres.
After that, I learned the basics of cooking at an Italian restaurant run by a chef who came from a Michelin-starred restaurant.”
Furthermore, he worked as an assistant to food director Mitsuru Asamoto, who handles cafe production for "SATURDAYS SURF NYC," among others.
He learned not only about cooking but also about creating spaces and showcasing the entire restaurant.
“After that, I saved up money for opening my own restaurant while working at places like the ramen shop "BASSANOVA" in Shin-Daita, and in 2016, I opened "CHICK FLICK BAKE."”
・ How did you learn to cook?
“I started my serious training when I decided to open a restaurant.
The first place I worked was a cafe chain.
The store managers were all so kind, and whenever a store was short-staffed, they would ask me to "go help out," and as a result, I ended up working at about 30 different stores.
It was incredibly valuable to see how various stores operated.”
What further influenced him greatly was his experience as an assistant to food producer Mitsuru Asamoto, whose name was mentioned earlier.
"It wasn't just about cooking; it was about creating the space. That's where I learned the most."
Hearing those words, the "comfortable atmosphere" I felt upon entering the restaurant made perfect sense.
・Mar-kun's relationship with music
Tracing Mar-kun's musical journey, its starting point goes back to his junior high school days.
“When I was in junior high, 2Pac ft. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman's California Love came on the radio in the car on the way to a cram school camp.
I was shocked and thought, "What is this!?"
So I saved up my allowance and went to buy the CD.
Back then, you couldn't just look things up like you can now, and I didn't even know the song title, so I'd write down the time it played on the radio and call the radio station to ask for the song title.”
In fact, Mar-kun had been learning piano since he was 3 years old.
At home, Michael Jackson and Daryl Hall & John Oates were always playing, so music was a familiar presence from an early age.
Perhaps it was because he grew up in such an environment that his encounter with "California Love" on the radio was such a completely different kind of shock than anything he had experienced before.
The story of how I encountered records was also quite impressive.
"When I was taking university entrance exams, I stayed at a friend's house who had moved to Tokyo earlier, and there were turntables and a lot of records in his room.
'What is this?' I thought.
I couldn't focus on studying for the exams anymore. (Laughs)
The fact that I could connect the songs I loved and make my own mixes was truly shocking. I thought it was a dream-like hobby.
I bought the equipment on a 10,000 yen per month loan, and all my part-time earnings went into records and mixtapes. (Laughs)"
He was taken to a record store by a senior who loved hip hop and whom he met in the university smoking area, and he gradually started digging for records, learning about used records that cost around 300 yen.
When asked about the Japanese artists he listens to now, he said,
“I really like FKD from Dry Echoes and Hikaru Tanaka. I also often listen to songs by JUMADIBA, Lil Mafuyu, and GYW BAY DAGR.”
Starting with hip-hop, he was drawn to the coolness of the beats, and his interest expanded to black music as a whole.
I felt that the musical sensibilities that had developed within Mar-kun were subtly infused throughout the restaurant today.
・About the restaurant's background music
Actually, he wasn't always playing hip-hop as he does now.
Apparently, when the restaurant first opened, it mainly played indie pop.
"The turning point was when Mr. Asamoto came to the restaurant.
He suddenly visited last month, almost 10 years after the restaurant opened.
That made me feel like I had achieved a goal, so I decided to be a bit more flexible with the music I played, moving beyond just indie pop.
I immediately bought a ton of mixtapes! (laughs)"
“And that's when I felt like I had achieved a goal.”
That single phrase was memorable.
The change in the music played in the restaurant was not just a simple change in background music, but perhaps a moment when he felt he could express his "likes" more honestly.
In addition, most of the art and books displayed in the store were personally selected by him.
Illustrations drawn by a student from Nihon University College of Art who used to work there part-time, and other items born from personal connections, were also carefully displayed.
It's sophisticated yet not overly elaborate.
That balance, I believe, contributes to the comfortable atmosphere of this restaurant.
When it comes to CFB/CHICK FLICK BAKE, it's definitely the chicken over rice.
It's a staple menu item that we always order when we come here.
Chicken over rice, apparently, has been on the menu since the restaurant first opened.
Although more restaurants serve chicken over rice now, it was apparently quite rare when they first started.
He says he didn't initially intend for it to be a "signature dish," but it has ultimately become a dish that represents the restaurant.
The persuasiveness that comes from its long-standing presence, its deliciousness, and its satisfying quality fill you with happiness.
・Why did you choose this location, Setagaya-Daita?
"I had always wanted to open a restaurant near here if I were to do it in Setagaya."
Apparently, what strengthened that feeling was the time he spent working at the ramen shop "BASSANOVA" in Shin-Daita.
He applied for a staff recruitment he found on Instagram, aiming to save money to open his own restaurant.
Working there with "Yana-san" from BASSANOVA was incredibly enjoyable, and including the time they spent going out for drinks and fun after work, his affection for this area grew deeper and deeper.
And then, just at the time of the relocation, he found this very property.
This place is also special to staff member Taichi.
“Actually, I still work at a taco shop, and I work here part-time on my days off.
It's very comfortable, and I learn a lot here.”
He originally started coming as a customer, visiting every week on his days off to drink highballs.
Before he knew it, his "favorite restaurant" became his workplace, and now he is an important part of supporting the business.
Taichi's goal is to own his own restaurant in the future.
People attract people, and new challenges are born from those connections.
I felt that such a comfortable cycle had naturally taken root at CHICK FLICK BAKE.
・Finally, please tell us about your future outlook.
"For now, I want to make this restaurant even better. For a while, I want to firmly establish it in this location."
Instead of rushing to open a second store or expand significantly, the focus is on carefully nurturing the existing location.
Those words also revealed Mar-kun's characteristic sincerity.
The food is delicious.
That alone is enough reason to visit.
However, that's not the only reason why you'll want to come back to this place again and again.
The music playing in the restaurant.
Each and every book on the shelf.
The casual conversations exchanged.
In all of it, the culture and human connections that Mar-kun has cultivated naturally permeate.
"Designing even the atmosphere."
This phrase perfectly describes the restaurant.
If you visit Setagaya-Daita, please be sure to stop by.
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CFB / Chick Flick Bake
1F N Building, 2-18-10 Daita, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 155-0033
Access: 50 seconds walk from Setagaya-Daita Station
Business hours : Lunch: 12:00-16:00 (L.O. 15:00)
Dinner: 17:00-21:30 (L.O. 20:30)
(Please check Instagram for the latest information, including closed days)
Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/cfbdaita/
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