September 9, 2013
Umami Mart’s Oakland HQ turned one year old this last month. What a wonderful year it’s been! To celebrate (as we do), we threw a big matsuri (festival) in the street — Broadway hasn’t seen anything like this! We gathered many of our food-tastic friends from San Francisco and Oakland to help make our one-year […]
August 13, 2013
August is our birthday month! It’s been one year since we opened our doors at 815 Broadway in Oakland, and indeed it’s been an enriching, exhilarating year. Thank you everyone for supporting our vision as America’s premier Japanese bar and kitchenware shop! We could not have come this far without all of you. On Saturday 8/24, we’ll […]
June 17, 2013
Conbini is a shortened word for “convenience” which is referred to when talking about convenience stores in Japan. Littered around on any street corner in most cities, conbinis are like a typical corner store, or bodega — but from the future. They are well-lit, sparkling clean havens stocked with freshly prepared foods to-go, nail clippers, […]
December 13, 2012
Popuphood is turning 1yo! We’re so thrilled to be a part of this great community for its first anniversary. To celebrate, we’re throwing a wine party! Our good friend Cory is the co-proprietor of Selection Massale, an East Bay-based wine distributor, focused on discovering wines by smaller, organic producers in Europe. We love Selection Massale’s […]
September 28, 2012
As you may have heard, there’s a highly anticipated ramen shop coming to Oakland. Our good friends Sam, Rayneil and JJ are the masterminds behind Ramen Shop (that’s right!), opening in Rockridge. The opening is still a few months away, and they are hard at work on their space (formerly the Japanese restaurant Tachibana), and […]
September 4, 2012
That’s right, we be grillin’ balls this Friday! Our good friends Koichi, Ryoji and Steven of YATAIYA will be making yaki-onigiri (grilled rice balls), and serving them alongside some house-made tsukemono (pickles). They are irresistible, smoky flavor-bombs! If we’re lucky, they’ll have other fun munchies on the grill as well. Come welcome Autumn with us! The grillin’ starts […]