DALLAS — When Toyota relocated its North American headquarters to Dallas, it put Texas on the map for investors, businesses and restaurants looking to expand overseas.
Along Gaston Avenue in Lakewood, the Creek Café’s name is not as revealing as the story behind it.
“There is a sushi place right next door but other than that, it’s really wild to see something like this here,” customer Frankie Cooke said.
The Creek Café opened in January, but its roots are 6,000 miles away in Japan. In the last 11 months, it has become a favorite for its breakfasts including waffles, crepes and fluffy pancakes.
"They’re great. They’re really good,” Cook said.
Kaori Kaji, the co-owner and chef, is originally from Hiroshima.
“We also like to cook vegan food,” she said.
Kaji and her business partner are now among a growing number of Japanese expanding their businesses into Texas.
When Toyota moved its North American headquarters to Plano, that caught the attention of investors in Japan. In fact, there’s even a Texas office in downtown Tokyo that recruits restaurants and businesses to move here.
On the 6th floor of a Tokyo high-rise, a few blocks from the U.S. Embassy, Hiroyuki Watanabe runs that so-called Texas – Japan Office.
“Texas is the best location for Japanese companies to do business in the United States,” Watanabe said.
He essentially sells Texas to Japanese investors.
Last year, the Texas-Japan Economic Summit in Houston reported that about 400 Japanese companies are responsible for 50,000 jobs in Texas right now. The group also ranked Texas as the top state that Japanese companies expect to expand.
Among the souvenirs Watanabe has on display from the Lone Star state, like belt buckles and a model American Airlines jet, there are also brochures about why Plano, Richardson and Fort Worth (among other local cities) are lucrative places to do business.
“The presence of Toyota is [a] most prestigious endorsement for Japanese companies and Japanese people,” he explained. “Now, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is regarded as one of the most ideal locations for Japanese companies to invest – to expand its business.”
But there’s something else is happening in Japan spurring this foreign investment.
The population there is declining, and that means the number of customers for Japanese businesses is shrinking.
“Japanese companies and Japanese people, we need to survive. So, the continuously growing market of the United States – and your Dallas region – it’s a very good location for such Japanese companies to survive,” Watanabe said.
Five years ago, not as many Japanese were looking at Texas as a place to do business.
“I don’t think so,” said Daisuke Mori, the Japanese investor behind the Creek Café in Lakewood.
We met him for sushi at Fujiro in Tokyo’s upscale Ginza district and asked how he selected Lakewood for the Creek Café.
“The first time I went to Lakewood, I fell in love over there because the people are very nice,” he began.
But Mori also acknowledged the presence of Toyota in Plano.
“Toyota’s moving has been good news. It’s big news for us and everybody,” Mori said. “I’m thinking to open another restaurant next year in central Dallas.”
Even as we talked, Fujiro’s owner, Mr. Munshige Takatori said he, too, is considering opening a restaurant in Texas.
When asked why, he said “the tax rate,” in broken English.
That business-friendly reputation is something state leaders like Governor Greg Abbott, among others, have bragged about for years.
For the Japanese, it was Toyota that really put Texas on the map, showing a growing number of investors like Mr. Mori and Ms. Kaji that this state can serve up opportunity.