Photo/Illutration Ryosuke Imai, right, president of Gigi Inc., with Arito Takahata, manager of the Mexican restaurant Taco Rico's Ark Hills branch in Tokyo's Akasaka district (Shun Hayashi)

Once upon a time, the keywords for whether a restaurant would succeed were location, location, location. 

But now, as restaurant operators battle to stay in business due to the new coronavirus pandemic, loyal customers are coming to the rescue like never before.

An online service called "Saki-meshi" (advance meal) is literally saving the bacon of restaurant operators pondering how long they can keep going. Patrons are asked to pay for meals in advance to allow business operators to think ahead and survive.

Saki-meshi was started by Fukuoka-based IT firm Gigi Inc. on March 9 after its president, 48-year-old Ryosuke Imai, was approached by an acquaintance for advice on how to help much-loved eateries hit hard by the outbreak.

The company already offers a "Gochi-meshi" (prepaid meal) service that allows patrons to pay for meals for their friends at designated establishments. The Saki-meshi service takes advantage of the earlier system by providing the means for loyal customers to make advance payments to restaurants they wish to support.

Users can select establishments through a smartphone app or online to pay for meals. They also pay a 10-percent commission. The advance payments are good for 180 days, excluding the period when the state of emergency remains in place.

"It is not a fundamental solution as it only provides advance payments to generate immediate sales," Imai said. "But I hope it will give operators some breathing space to think about delivery services and other ways to cope with the situation while they try to make it through."

The only hitch is that no refunds will be offered if restaurants go out of business due to financial difficulties.

"We hope users will show their support for their favorite restaurants to continue operating by using Saki-meshi and help them overcome this crisis," a representative said.

About 1,300 restaurants across the country have registered with Saki-meshi since the service started.

One of them is Mexican restaurant Taco Rico's Ark Hills branch in Tokyo's Akasaka district. Its sales plummeted to about 60 percent after customers started self-isolating and teleworking from home. The establishment decided to close from April 8 until May 6.

"Even if we can earn just 1 yen (about 1 U.S. cent) in sales, we appreciate it," said manager Arito Takahata, 32. "My priority is to pay the salaries of our hardworking staff members while we remain closed."

A list of participating establishments, along with a detailed guide on how to use the service, is available on the official website in Japanese at (https://peraichi.com/landing_pages/view/sakimeshi).