SMALL BUSINESS: Epicurean Hideaway
R-23 restaurant has built a loyal clientele with its Japanese
cuisine, despite a hard-to-find location in artists’ district.
By DANNY KING
Staff Reporter
Haru Maruyama had simple guidelines when he was shopping for a restaurant location near downtown Los Angeles.
“I was looking for low rent and high ceilings,” said Maruyama, who had previously managed the now-defunct Katsu in Los Feliz.
Ten years, 150 designer cardboard chairs and countless lost guests later, the SoHo-like trappings of R-23 and Maruyama’s brand of Japanese cuisine continue to attract politicos, showbiz types and arts district locals.
The restaurant has cultivated a reputation fed by a loyal clientele that helps make up for a location that’s a challenge to find, even for repeat guests.
“You’re bound to find it eventually,” said regular and MOCA executive assistant Olga Gerrard, who said the 1.5-mile lunch trip takes “about eight minutes add a few minutes for going around the wrong block.”
The name serves as one hint. The 2,700-square-foot restaurant at 923 E. Third St., three blocks east of Alameda Street, is in the artists’ district on the edge of Little Tokyo. It sits in an old warehouse next to railroad tracks that run between Second and Third streets, hence “R-23.”
The remote location was a hindrance to business early on, and one reason Maruyama and partner Jake Seonz said the restaurant wasn’t profitable until it had been open for three years. Since then, diners have come to appreciate the unorthodox surroundings, which include 20-foot-high ceilings and huge wooden trusses.
“(Haru) just hunted around here trying to find an unusual, artistic place, and this place was perfect,” said Seonz.
The 50-seat restaurant also is notable for its non-traditional approach to d & #233;cor and ambience. Avant-garde paintings from local artists adorn the old brick walls, while sushi is served on custom-made 3-foot long ceramic platters that can cost up to $1,000 each.
Then there are the chairs.
Joel Stearns, owner of Culver City-based furniture design shop New City Editions, had developed a number of cardboard lines with noted architect Frank Gehry when he approached Maruyama with his chairs, which have a cardboard base and backing but also vinyl padding.
He said R-23’s principals, while looking for something stylish for the restaurant, were skeptical at first.
“Once I started jumping around on my chairs, they were convinced,” said Stearns, who noted that the restaurant is on its third set of chairs, which retail for $70 each. “The appeal is much more about style than price and functionality.”
Downtown slowdown
R-23 has not been exempt from the downturn that has plagued the broader economy since Sept. 11. But despite business being off 30 percent in September and 10 percent off in October, Seonz projects that 2001 revenues will match last year’s $1 million level.
He believes that the influx of professors at Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), which opened earlier this year just around the block, and the imminent opening of Disney Concert Hall, will drive growth in the near future.
The restaurant, which has a $25 per head average for lunch and a $50 dinner average (drinks included) for dinner, has seen revenues growth of 10 to 15 percent over the past few years, according to Seonz.
“I think we can make $1.5 million in a couple years,” he said, adding that he’d like to open another restaurant in West Los Angeles and possibly one in New York after that.
Meantime, Seonz, who studied aqua farming at Pusan National University in Korea and had worked in the fishing industry before becoming a partner in R-23, takes pride in his role.
“Why do people come here? Best fish,” said Seonz, who noted that the high quality seafood, all of which is cut on site, keeps R-23’s food costs up around the 40 percent level (restaurants generally run food costs at about 30 percent of sales). About 80 percent of R-23’s menu is seafood-related.
“This is my final step,” said Seonz. “Serving fish on the table.”
The restaurant also has enjoyed consistency in the kitchen, having had just one head chef, Katsu alum Tobita Tatsumi, since its opening in 1991.
R-23 is one of 15 Los Angeles area restaurants with a food rating of 26 or better in the 2002 L.A. restaurant survey published by Zagat.
“The bottom line is the food is so good there,” said Gerrard, who named the grilled salmon and chirashi (a sashimi and rice dish) as her favorite dishes. “Even if they’re busy, it doesn’t feel terribly rushed. There aren’t many options that don’t cater to a more rigid business clientele.”
R-23
Year Founded: 1991
Core Business: Restaurant
Revenues in 1995: $500,000
Revenues in 2001: $1 million (projected)
Employees in 1995: 9
Employees in 2001: 14
Goal: To reach $1.5 million in revenues by 2003.
Driving Force: To differentiate the restaurant from others featuring Japanese cuisine by marrying food and ambience.
