The Horie Building is a renovated 50-year-old building located a 5-minute walk from the west exit of Nagoya Station. The first floor of the building houses the free paper specialty store "Only Free Paper" and the coffee shop "Kissa River," which boasts pancakes and cream sodas, while the second and third floors are occupied by the gallery space "NA2" and offices. The second and third floors are occupied by the gallery space "NA2" and offices, attracting attention as a new cultural spot in Nagoya.

This time, we interviewed Mr. Hiroaki Horie, who manages Horie Building, about free papers, coffee shops, and the future prospects of Horie Building.

As a new cultural spot west of the station

Mr. Horie's main business is a producer at a design company. In addition, he is also involved in the free paper “Rooftop and Sora free”.

-What made you decide to start Horie Building?

Horie: "I was born and raised in the area west of the station, and when I was a student, Seikatsu Soko (a shopping mall for young people where Big Camera is now located) was a landmark of the area west of the station. With the Linear Line scheduled to open in 2027, I felt that the town was changing day by day, and as a local, I wanted to do something interesting."

Mr. Horie: "In the midst of all this, this building that my parents owned as the 'Horie Building' became vacant. I made a presentation to my parents on new ways to utilize the building, and they decided to let me take over the building. Thus, we decided to renovate the building and reborn it as the "Horie Building" with the aim of creating a new cultural spot in the area west of the station.

The goal of Horie Building is to create an exciting and interesting place where I used to feel that there was something interesting when I went to Seikatsu Souko. We started Holie Building with the aim of creating a place where neighbors can casually stop by. ”

Coffee shop with delicious pancakes

- Why did you choose a coffee shop and a free paper specialty store?

Mr. Horie: "In the past, there were more than a handful of coffee shops scattered around this area alone. Now, most have closed due to aging owners and various other circumstances. It is precisely because the coffee shop culture had taken root in this area that we wanted to create a coffee shop where neighbors could feel free to drop by.

When we started the coffee shop, we put special emphasis on "pancakes" and "cream soda". Because I genuinely liked them, I aimed to create a store that serves delicious pancakes. However, I thought that a coffee shop alone might not be interesting enough. I thought it might not be as interesting as just a coffee shop, so I decided to add a store specializing in free papers."

We are proud of our old-fashioned pancakes, which are fluffy and perfect. Normally, two tiers are available, but three tiers can be added.

You can choose from 4 colors of cream soda. Ice cream seems to use a lot of vanilla beans so that it goes well with soda water. You can feel the attention to detail.