Shiro Oguni opened a restaurant in Shizuoka, Japan in which all the waiting staff have dementia. In a YouTube video, the owner explains his vision, “Dementia is so widely misunderstood. People believe you can’t do anything for yourself and the condition will often mean complete isolation from society. We want to change society to become more caring and easy-going, so we can live together in harmony.”

The video then shows us the kitchen where Shiro and the chefs are cooking food. In a voiceover Shiro says, “We opened a limited period popup restaurant where all the waiting staff are dementia patients … and what did we call ourselves? The ‘Restaurant of Mistaken Orders.’”

The video then shows the wait staff lined up at the door of the restaurant bowing to the customers as they enter the restaurant. Then they take orders and begin bringing the orders to customers seated at the tables. One elderly server has a delicious plate of food which she offers to a guest, who smiling shakes her head that this is not what was ordered. The server says with a big smile, “It isn’t? Oops! Sorry dear.” Another waiter puts a drink in front of a customer only to take it back. “Oh, sorry, that wasn’t right. Oh no it was! I heard what you said, but I just can’t remember!” Another waiter needs help in totaling the bill and the customers kindly help them with the math.

There is an atmosphere of joy and smiles at every table as the wait staff needs help getting the plates of food to the correct person and words of gentle apology about the confusion.

Shiro says, “Our restaurant is stylish, and serves great food. If your order was mistaken, you can shrug it off with a smile and enjoy what comes your way anyway. The name, ‘The Restaurant of Mistaken Orders,’ allows our customers to enter with an open mind. They expected mistakes, so were OK with it. It created an air of easy-going acceptance. I’m convinced that if our message become more mainstream society will become more tolerant and open.”

The video ends with a summary:

37% of orders were mistaken

But 99% of customers said they were happy

You can watch the 2-minute video here.

Editor’s Note: According to the World Health Organization (3/22), there are currently 55 million dementia patients worldwide and this number is predicted to increase to 152 million by 2050.