Grand Opening Matsuri 2019

Every year, right before Matsuri, I freak out. For about a week, I worry that no one will show up. This year was no different, and posed the biggest question: what if no one knows we've moved??? What a tragedy it would be if we opened the doors at noon and no one came? Tumbleweeds and sadness...

But I should never doubt our wonderful community who come out every year for all the fun, the food, and the taiko. And this year, we had the best thing of all – booze! To celebrate our grand opening in our new space at 4027 Broadway, we invited our favorite drink friends to help break in our shop, now complete with a bar.

People started lining up at the door (fears defeated) and promptly at noon, Yoko and I broke the kagamiwari. We did this at our grand opening at our original location in 2012, so it was important that we did this here. Once the kagamiwari was broken, the sake flowed. And flowed. It never seemed to end.

Breaking the kagamiwari (sake cask) at noon. The start of Matsuri, and for a prosperous future at our new location!