Time passed quickly, and with the enthusiastic help of Windmill Village residents, the restaurant was rapidly constructed and decorated to perfection.
The finished building was a three-story wooden structure covering nearly three hundred square meters. The first floor housed the kitchen and dining area for regular customers, featuring six tables total—a number chosen for good fortune.
The second floor was designated for VIP guests (wealthy patrons), divided into four private rooms labeled A, B, C, and D. The premium rooms A and B offered both street and ocean views, while rooms C and D were slightly less desirable with only street views.
The third floor served as living quarters for everyone, containing six rooms total—one each for Gustave, Po, Tom, Ace, and Luffy, with an extra room reserved for Garp's future visits.
As for the restaurant's name, they settled on "Bamboo Staff Bistro." The "Bamboo" represented Po, while "Staff" represented Gustave.
Tom immediately protested this naming choice, arguing that since there is no recognition for him in the name.
This gave Gustave quite a headache. He finally solved the problem by adding a trademark to the "Bamboo Staff Bistro" restaurant featuring a cat head design. Only after hearing this compromise did Tom stop his complaints.
However, Tom insisted on drawing the cat head himself, which Gustave naturally agreed to. So in addition to the "Bamboo Staff Bistro" sign, the restaurant also displayed a flag bearing a cat head that looked remarkably similar to Tom.
The head chef of "Bamboo Staff Bistro" was Gustave, with deputy chefs Po and Tom. Po handled Chinese cuisine while Tom managed Western dishes. As for Gustave, his culinary mastery extended effortlessly across both Eastern and Western traditions, the result of years spent honing his craft in kitchens around the world.
"Bamboo Staff Bistro's" Eastern menu was intentionally unique—rather than listing specific dishes, they simply displayed available ingredients, allowing guests to order freely based on what was available. If customers were unsure what to order, Gustave or Po would recommend dishes. This ordering style required absolute confidence in the chef's abilities, something Gustave had learned during his time in Yunnan Province.
For Western cuisine, Tom had originally planned to create a traditional menu, but after seeing the Chinese approach of ingredient-based ordering, he decided against it. He could prepare any Western dish imaginable! This was Tom's supreme confidence in his own abilities.
Regarding business hours, "Bamboo Staff Bistro" typically opened around eleven in the morning and closed around eight in the evening. Mornings were reserved for exercise and meal preparation.
Finally, there was the matter of "Bamboo Staff Bistro's" waitstaff. After careful consideration, Gustave decided to entrust this important responsibility to Ace and Luffy. This was also part of their training! Hehehe!
To convince Ace and Luffy to accept their roles as waiters, Gustave invested considerable effort. He kept telling them things like "Before life grants you greatness, it makes sure you're ready to carry the weight." He cited numerous examples of how strong people all rose from humble beginnings, arguing that if they couldn't even excel as waiters, how could they hope to save lives and help others!
When the naive little Luffy heard Gustave's inspirational speech, he immediately patted his chest and promised to be an excellent waiter. Even the more mature Ace agreed to do his best after Gustave's persuasive efforts.
Seeing both children so cooperative, Gustave rewarded each of them with a lollipop.
Incidentally, there was one important detail to mention: when Gustave and his companions had arrived in Windmill Village, they were completely penniless. The money to build "Bamboo Staff Bistro" had been borrowed by Po from his master, Garp.
On "Bamboo Staff Bistro's" opening day, many Windmill Village residents came to show their support. During the restaurant's construction, the villagers had provided tremendous assistance. So after discussing among themselves, Gustave stood up and announced:
"To thank everyone for their help during this period, Po, Tom, and I have decided that all Windmill Village residents will receive half-price meals at Bamboo Staff Bistro from now on!"
"Hooray!" Hearing Gustave's words, the villagers erupted in joyful cheers!
Beyond gratitude, Gustave had also calculated that while Windmill Village had many residents, one village alone couldn't generate enough income for them to earn ship-building funds.
To make serious money, they needed to rely on passing merchants and wealthy individuals from the Goa Kingdom. The second-floor private rooms were designed specifically for these clients.
Moreover, in the One Piece world, there was no shortage of various short-sighted pirates and bandits. If Po hadn't been forcibly accepted as Garp's apprentice, things might be different, but ever since Po began training under Garp, Gustave had been waiting for those troublemakers to come calling.
With Po's current growth rate, Gustave estimated it wouldn't take long for him to become invincible throughout the East Blue. Even if strong fighters from outside the East Blue arrived, there was still Tom, who could match anyone's strength level. As long as Tom could keep them occupied, Gustave would have enough time to pack up and escape.
But what if some East Blue powerhouse destroyed the "Bamboo Staff Bistro"? Then they'd have to answer to Garp. Po was Garp's apprentice, while Ace and Luffy were Garp's grandsons. With this backing, even if Gustave played the victim, who could withstand Garp's pursuit?
Hadn't Roger himself been chased around by Garp back in the day? No matter how powerful someone was, could they surpass Roger?
Furthermore, Emperor-level strongmen basically remained in the New World. Their every movement was monitored by the Marine—they wouldn't come to the East Blue without serious reason.
The only ones who might visit the East Blue casually were Shanks and Hawkeye. There was no need to worry about Shanks, because with Luffy alone—not to mention Ace as well—serving as waiters at "Bamboo Staff Bistro," would Shanks dare not pay his bill?
Hawkeye was somewhat unpredictable, but he should pay his bill... right?
Based on these considerations, plus the fact that all Windmill Village residents were like family, Gustave and his team decided to offer the half-price discount.
Thanks to its exceptional cooking and many dishes never before seen in the One Piece world, "Bamboo Staff Bistro" quickly gained fame. Many passing merchants and wealthy nobles from the Goa Kingdom learned of "Bamboo Staff Bistro's" existence.
"Bamboo Staff Bistro" had been open for only six months, yet the second-floor private rooms were already fully booked. Customers typically needed to make reservations three to five days in advance to secure a table.
This phenomenon had several causes:
First was naturally Gustave's cooking skills. As customer numbers increased, Gustave had taken primary responsibility for preparing dishes in the second-floor private rooms, leaving the first floor entirely to Po and Tom.
While Po and Tom's cooking skills were quite good, they still fell short of Gustave's level. This was precisely why they were content to serve as sous chefs.
The second reason was that some of Gustave's most intricate dishes required several days of preparation. Signature examples included Beef Wellington en Croûte, known for its delicate layering of pastry, duxelles, and perfectly seared beef tenderloin, and Lobster Thermidor, a labor-intensive classic that demanded careful timing and precise sauce work. These kinds of dishes weren't something you could order on a whim—anyone hoping to enjoy them had to place a reservation and join the waiting list.
The final reason stemmed from the damn aristocratic mentality prevalent in the One Piece world. Even minor nobles from the Goa Kingdom were unwilling to associate with "commoners."
Recently, a new fashion had become popular among Goa Kingdom noble circles: visiting "Bamboo Staff Bistro" to taste dishes personally prepared by Gustave.
Large numbers of status-conscious nobles refused to lower themselves to dining on the first floor, insisting on second-floor private rooms. The combination of these factors had created the current situation.
While Gustave found these nobles' pretentious concerns disgusting, he couldn't deny they were wealthy. Each visit typically cost at least one hundred thousand to two hundred thousand Berries, with some spending up to one million Berries.
As the saying went, only fools refused to make money. They absolutely had to profit from these nobles.
However, Ace and Luffy couldn't be allowed to serve this group of nobles. This was mainly because these nobles were too repugnant. To protect the two children, Gustave personally handled second-floor private room service.
When too many nobles gathered, trouble inevitably arose. Well, something had happened today, leading to the face-slapping scene everyone loved to witness.
"Do you know who I am? Eating at your lowly establishment is already an honor! And you're asking me to make a reservation!"
A young nobleman with slicked-back hair parted in the middle—looking like he suffered from kidney deficiency—slammed his hand on the reception desk while shouting these words.
"Yes, yes! Our young master has never had to queue for meals in the kingdom's capital! What kind of pathetic restaurant is this!" The lackeys behind the young noble chimed in.
"I apologize, sir, but second-floor private rooms must be reserved in advance. This is our policy. You can register your information first, and we'll arrange seating as soon as possible."
Due to good business, Gustave had recently hired two girls from Windmill Village as additional help. One was named Ruth, the other Mary—and Mary was currently working the reception desk.
"What? Are you looking down on me?"
Hearing Mary's response, the young noble immediately flew into a rage and shoved Mary with his hand. Mary fell to the ground.
"Sister Mary, are you okay?" Seeing Mary pushed down, Ace and Luffy immediately rushed over.
"I'm fine, Ace, Luffy," Mary said slowly, getting to her feet and claiming she was unharmed.
"How can you be fine? Sister Mary, your arm is clearly injured and bleeding!" Luffy shouted, pointing at the wound on Mary's arm.
"Luffy, I'm really okay..." Mary forced a smile.
"Mary, go tend to your wound first. I'll handle the rest."
"Ace, Luffy, you two quickly take Mary to Makino's tavern across the street for treatment."
Gustave, hearing the commotion from the kitchen, emerged and gave these instructions.
Following Gustave's words, Luffy and Ace glared at the young noble before helping Mary to Makino's tavern across the street.
Gustave looked at the young noble before him and said coldly:
"I don't care who you are. You injured my employee today, so you must apologize to her and provide compensation."
The young nobleman snorted disdainfully upon hearing this, then declared arrogantly:
"Do you know who I am? How dare you demand I apologize to that commoner!"
Hearing this, Gustave realized the young noble had no intention of apologizing to Mary. While the bulk of "Bamboo Staff Bistro's" income came from nobles like this, it didn't mean Gustave had to grovel before them.
Over the past six months, due to booming business, Gustave had saved tens of millions of Berries. According to his original plan, he would work another year or two, save two to three hundred million Berries, then travel to Water 7 to commission a custom mobile sea restaurant.
"It seems my plans to set sail will have to be accelerated!" Thinking this, Gustave clenched his fists, preparing to punch the arrogant young noble square in the face.
After six months of training, Gustave's current strength was unmatched within the Goa Kingdom. With this punch, the young noble would probably die.
Just as Gustave was about to strike, a massive shadow covered the area at Windmill Village's entrance, followed by a booming laugh:
"Hey! Luffy, Ace, Po, Gustave my boy, and Tom—I'm back to see you all!"
Looking toward the sound's source, they saw a huge dog-headed warship suddenly docked at Windmill Village's small pier. Then a figure wearing a Justice cloak leaped from the warship and arrived at "Bamboo Staff Bistro's" entrance.
That's right—the arrival was none other than Garp!