Umami Mart

This past Saturday we celebrated our four-year anniversary in Oakland. And as we have done every year since opening, we threw ourselves a huge birthday party. I don’t really keep track of my own birthdays anymore because celebrating Umami Mart birthdays seems so much more of an accomplishment, especially as our community grows year by […]

It’s that time of year again, Matsuri time! Umami Mart turns 4yo this year and our annual fiesta will be jam-packed and rowdier than ever. It’s Oakland’s Party of the Year! Our Matsuri, this year on Saturday 8/13, is always our way to celebrate our birthday and honor our community – our favorite people! We love all of you who have been […]

Sakqueso!, just as the name suggests, was an event we put on pairing cheese with sake. It was loads of FUN! We invited Keisuke Akabori to create a five-course menu and Tim Sullivan of Hakkaisan Brewery to come and pair the dishes with their sakes. Sake and cheese pair very well, wouldn’t you know, since […]

I’m happy to report that we had a successful fundraising event for Tohoku last month. This was our first collaboration with UC Berkeley’s Center for Japanese Studies, and we’d all agree that it was awesome. Despite the massive rain that poured down on downtown Berkeley on the night of March 12, we had about 100 […]

It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly five years since the devastating tsunami disaster in Tohoku. The earthquake struck on March 11, 2011 and news traveled quickly to California. I recall watching footage of towns in northern Japan immersed in water — people being dragged downstream (many who had passed on), while people stood on rooftops of their homes, trying not […]

Umami Mart is all grown up. Although she’s only 3 years old, the lifespan of a business seems to whiz by and feels like it goes by in dog years. So it feels more like she actually just turned 21. It makes sense, as year 3 brought us our very own license to sell beer […]

Wow guys, THREE YEARS!!! Can you believe we have been open in Old Oakland for three whole years???!?!?! From bare walls to Skankynavian chic, Yoko and I are so proud and happy to have been able to share our passion for food and drink culture with all of you. Thanks so much for all your support! […]

We can not tell you how fun it has been at Umami Mart since we’ve started selling beers and sake. We are America’s first Japanese beer shop! And you ain’t seen nothin’ yet, ya’ll. Getting our license to sell alcohol was our biggest hurdle, and now that it’s here we plan to do this right. We’re […]

Another summer, come and gone. Erm, another fall, come and gone. It’s starting to get chilly here in the Bay Area so I thought I would bring back some summertime warmth and celebration and blog about our 2nd annual Umami Mart Matsuri. Or as I like to (humbly) call it, Oakland’s Party of the Year. […]

We are beyond excited to announce yet another collaboration event with our neighbor The Trappist. Baird Beer, a brewery from Numazu, Japan will be visiting for one night only, taking over 10 taps at the Trappist! Mr. Bryan Baird himself will be here from Japan, along with John, who works at the brewery as well. […]