At what level does a pastime change into a career? Round 15 years in the past, Kayoko Akabori and Yoko Kumano have been each working workplace jobs (Akabori in New York Metropolis, Kumano in Tokyo) and focusing their free-time energies at constructing a group meals weblog dubbed Umami Mart.
Step-by-step through the years, what began as a meals running a blog pastime advanced into a web based store promoting Japanese barware, then a brick and mortar location. As we speak, Umami Mart’s retailer and bar in Oakland, California, is the foremost vacation spot for curious drinkers in search of to be taught extra about (and style and have a good time) Japanese drinks of every type. What began as a barware retailer morphed through the years to incorporate a spread of Japanese kitchen items and teaware, together with a bottle store stocked with a powerful vary of Japanese beer, sake, shochu, and different spirits.
We spoke with Umami Mart’s founders for our Might/June 2024 function on shochu, and for our on-line shochu Style Check. Right here’s their extra detailed story of how Umami Mart got here to be, and the way it’s advanced through the years.
Kayoko Akabori:
In 2007, I began Umami Mart as a weblog on Blogspot. It began out as a group meals weblog, and I used to be corresponding from New York Metropolis and Yoko was in Tokyo. We each had cubicle jobs (however probably not the boring variety), and we in some way discovered the time to jot down about what we have been consuming and cooking, and about going out and residing it up in these cities. I bought coworkers to start out writing on the weblog. After which it became associates internationally—our buddy Anders Arhoj from Copenhagen, Brian from São Paulo, associates in LA. I feel at its largest, we had perhaps 30 or 40 writers contributing to the weblog, and it was when blogs have been simply arising, so it was a very enjoyable time to be a part of the group.
By 2010, the weblog was getting good readership, and we had a cocktail author who was fairly well-liked, Payman Bahmani. He was working at PDT in New York Metropolis. Yoko and I had simply moved again to the Bay Space, and we have been like, “Let’s attempt to make this even greater, however nonetheless attempt to maintain it advert free.” After which Payman stated, “Japanese barware is admittedly well-liked proper now with the bartending group.” So Yoko bought her importing license and we began promoting Japanese barware on the weblog. By the second yr vacation season, it was getting sufficiently big the place we felt prefer it had outgrown Yoko’s condo and we might transfer right into a brick and mortar house, with perhaps a little bit showroom within the entrance, and we might course of the web orders within the again.
Certainly one of our prospects urged a buddy of theirs operating this pop-up hood in downtown Oakland. It was a block of empty storefronts that town, together with the owner, was supporting. We bought it rent-free for six months after which we might signal a lease if we needed to remain. So it was an ideal alternative to strive it out. We had this stunning house that was actually, actually large, manner greater than we had anticipated. We needed to fill it out with kitchenware and different cooking-related issues.
Yoko Kumano:
After we opened the brick and mortar, we requested our buddy Anders Arhoj from Copenhagen to assist us design the shop. He was additionally writing for the weblog. He’s a designer and he designed our model, our emblem, and plenty of the graphics which are related to the house. He additionally designed the house on the whole, with blonde wooden and a minimalistic really feel. Lots of people come into the shop and say, “What is that this? Is that this a museum or a gallery?” We promote these merchandise. However we additionally created an area that we needed to be aesthetically particular, that’s clear and satisfying to spend time in.
As a result of we have been in downtown Oakland and there have been lots of workplace employees, we realized that most individuals weren’t purchasing for high-end Japanese barware or high-end teaware. So we added a little bit part for snacks and drinks, and these have been non-alcoholic drinks after we began. And that proved to be highly regarded. From there, we additionally included issues like condiments and smaller meals merchandise, however all Japan associated.
Lots of issues have been happening locally round 2012. A buddy of ours was beginning off doing a catering enterprise, and we turned the pickup level for his bento packing containers. The Ramen Store was additionally simply opening in Oakland round that point, so we did lots of collaborative occasions. And we’ve at all times gained inspiration from different small enterprise house owners and native artists. Ninety % of our merchandise are from Japan. The opposite 10 % are made in collaboration with native makers, even individuals in Portland and Los Angeles. These collaborations, and having occasions, are large elements of Umami Mart and tying into the group.
Kayoko Akabori:
Even again through the weblog part, we did numerous occasions. I’d manage this stuff referred to as Umami Ventures. They have been subject journeys to the outer boroughs of New York Metropolis, like a taco crawl in Sundown Park or a dim sum extravaganza in Chinatown. And Yoko would do them in Tokyo. Occasions have been a manner for us to fulfill the readers and join with them in a enjoyable manner. And a giant motive why we needed a brick and mortar was to have an occasion house. Traditionally, we’ve thrown actually good, actually large events. We at all times simply lean into the group, and it’s at all times stunning how the group undoubtedly exhibits up.
Yoko Kumano:
Whenever you’re promoting barware, actually the subsequent query was at all times, “The place’s the booze?” And again then, Japanese whisky was actually exploding onto the scene. We bought our beer and wine license for off sale round 2014. I had some sake information previous to Umami Mart, so we determined to hold sake and Japanese beer. It was a great way for us to gauge what the subsequent questions have been going to be relating to spirits. And it turned clear that folks needed Japanese whisky and, finally, shochu. Round 2017, we bought our spirits license. Then in 2019, we moved to the brand new location as a result of we needed to have a bar. As a result of the subsequent query from prospects after getting our spirits license was at all times, “Can I style it?”
Kayoko Akabori:
We enlisted Anders once more to design the house. It was about the identical sq. footage because the outdated retailer, and we knew that we’d be truncating the entrance of the house with the intention to home the bar. So we did need to make the choice to chop some merchandise. However in some way we simply form of match all of it in. We’re persevering with to develop the shochu and the sake bottles off-sale for individuals to take residence. Proper now, sake is our hottest class within the retailer. Yoko is the sake director and she or he makes positive that we’ve got an amazing choice of sakes on-line and within the retailer—very contemporary bottles, the latest bottles.
[Sake Gumi and Shochu Gumi, subscription-based clubs for sake and shochu] are most likely the spine of the store proper now. It actually form of bought us by Covid, not simply financially, however the group is admittedly robust. We’ve about 200 Sake Gumi members and about 100 Shochu Gumi members. The golf equipment are actually great, and we put lots of work into them as a result of they maintain our group. They arrive in as soon as a month to select up their sake or shochu. They arrive to our bar and to our occasions. We work exhausting to maintain issues round that they need, have occasions for them, give them good reductions, lots of perks.
Yoko Kumano:
With the weblog, the tagline was, “All people eats—let’s speak about it.” That spirit of speaking about issues and training has at all times been a giant a part of Umami Mart. So whether or not it’s the occasions or how we clarify the merchandise from on-line to in particular person, we’re at all times attempting to have interaction individuals in dialog, ask questions, be curious.
