Japanese Eateries Hope L.A. Acquires a Taste for Their Fare

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In the four months since the Japanese-based restaurant chain Umenohana opened its first U.S. location in Beverly Hills, it’s been a struggle converting diners to its menu of tofu and yuba (tofu skin).


Kunae Kim, public relations and marketing director for the restaurant, said it’s also been tough getting customers to embrace kaiseki, the ritualistic dining process that includes four courses of seven to 12 dishes, with diners sharing the food.


After less than a month, restaurant operators realized American customers didn’t always want to eat the same courses and began offering a la carte items for dinner.


“We were beginning to find it would turn some people away,” said Kim, of the focus on tofu. “We were successful in generating the kind of traffic we wanted to see, but we’re halfway there. The response of the people who did come has been very great.”


It’s a familiar story for Japanese transplants. Ever since Benihana came ashore in the early 1960s, the American market has held a special allure and challenge for Japanese restaurateurs. None has matched that concept’s success, but not for lack of trying.


As part of a planned re-launch expected by April, Umenohana’s menu is expected to go beyond tofu, with possibilities that include more sushi, meat or seafood. If it works here, the plan would be to expand to Orange County and New York over the next two years.


The owners of Gyu-Kaku could have warned Umenohana about the pitfalls in bringing a Japanese concept to the United States.


Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese take on Korean-style barbeque, has more than 800 locations back home, but struggled with the West Los Angeles restaurant it opened in 2001.


“We’ve been doing a large amount of experimenting, as well as research on our whole concept,” said Aki Yamaguchi, the chain’s director of U.S. operations. “We weren’t sure it was going to work in the mainstream American market but almost 80 to 90 percent of our clientele are American people ages 20 to 35 years old.”


Customers at Gyu-Kaku cook their own meat, chicken, fish and vegetables at the table. Part of the refiguring of the concept involved training sessions for employees to familiarize them with the grilling concept so they could explain it to customers, Yamaguchi said.


The U.S. version features larger portion sizes than in Japan and offers meat that is more popular here, such as rib-eye and filet, instead of the intestinal meats common in Japan.


Gyu-Kaku plans to expand into a 3,500-square-foot former Pizza Hut location in Sherman Oaks next month, followed by a unit in Old Pasadena in August and one in Burbank by early 2006. They would join locations in West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and Torrance.



Moustache Update


Chocolat Restaurant & Bar opened at the former site of Moustache Caf & #233; on Melrose Avenue Jan. 21, the day after Moustache closed.


Kia Illulian, an investor in West Hollywood’s Bliss nightclub, opened the chocolate-themed restaurant in the 6,000-square-foot space, even keeping chef Miguel Rodriguez, who had been employed by Moustache Caf & #233; for about 25 years.


The menu has changed and the d & #233;cor will soon follow. “The overall concept is to create a surreal experience where you’re surrounded by the feeling of chocolate, which is a warm feeling,” said Illulian.


Chocolat, at 8155 Melrose Ave., will remain open during a three-month remodel that will include using chocolate colors throughout the restaurant and eventually the addition of a fountain that spouts chocolate, rather than water.


The menu will include a fair share of chocolate items, including chocolate fondue, the Chocolat souffl & #233;, and an appetizer of shrimp tempura smothered with a teriyaki miso-glazed chocolate sauce.


Illulian purchased the business and property from Moustache Caf & #233; co-owners Fernand Page and Camille Crochet, who still operate the Moustache Caf & #233; on Glendon Avenue in Westwood. He would not disclose the purchase price, but said it was well above the $4 million estimate provided by a commercial real estate brokerage source familiar with the market.



Staff reporter Rebecca Flass can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230, or at

[email protected]

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