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From the creators of Foodie Cart and fRESHSTREET comes yet another new dining concept that is sure to excite their local foodie fan base. Husband and wife duo Kenny Kim and Misako Ohba will be opening Section 8 Yakitorium this Thursday, December 15th inside the Double Happiness bar, located at 482 South Front Street in The Brewery District. As the name implies, The Yakitorium will serve a variety of japanese yakitori treats.
We spoke with co-owner Kenny Kim to get the lowdown on their latest venture.
Q: First, can you tell us a bit about what exactly yakitori is?
A: Yakitori is a traditional Japanese skewer that can also be called kushiyaki. Yakitori actually means grilled/skewered chicken, but the term is also used for non-chicken skewers as well. The skewers are either dipped & grilled with tare, or prepared with salt (shio) & a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Most yakitori places use bincho-tan which is usually charcoal made out of oak. We will be using bincho-tan for our yakitori as well.
Q: How did the concept for Section 8 Yakitorium come about?
A: Yakitori was going to be our newest item at fRESHSTREET. We were asked if we wanted to team up and move into Double Happiness by Bret Lewis. We accepted and decided to move the yakitori debut at fRESHSTREET to Double Happiness. I thought Section 8 was fitting and Bret Lewis liked the word Yakitorium. We combined the two ideas and now you have Section 8 Yakitorium.
Q: So what will your menu look like there?
A: When we start this Thursday, our menu will be really traditional and simple at first. We want to ease into the situation and get comfy. The first will just be yakitori, but eventually we will add three other kinds of chicken skewers, pork cheek, pork belly, beef tongue, short rib, eringi mushroom, and a few others. We will also be serving Thunderkiss Coffee.
Q: When is the opening date, and what hours will you operate?
A: The opening date is Thursday, December 15th and we will be open from 6:30pm to Midnight this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We will then rearrange the menu & schedule based on what we learn in those three days. Our facebook, twitter, or tumblr page can update you on our changes.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: The two other partners involved are Bret Lewis and Yalan Papillion. Bret is an ex-professor and musician. Yalan owns and runs Double Happiness and is a musician as well. Jason Valentine of Thunderkiss Coffee will supply the beans and Misako Ohba is going to be our yakitori grill master.
More information can be found online at http://s8yakitorium.tumblr.com.
sounds awesome!
This makes me very happy! Watching Bourdain and Zimmer devour their share of yakitori around the globe has made me especially hungry for this delicacy as of late. This is another great reason to stay downtown after work, and truly adds a “D” to the Brewery District as a Destination Location along with Shadowbox and World of Beer.
“Section 8″ doesn’t appeal to my culinary senses, but cheek, belly, tongue and mushroom certainly do and I look forward to their new enterprise.
Section 8 seems a poor choice as it directly corresponds to subsidized housing and the often maligned needy, which would be obvious to a street vendor. Maybe there is a joke there* (ha, ha) , but I do not see this as appropriate. I am disappointed in the lack of social consciousness, and I am not even an old curmudgeon yet…
* poor man’s Yakitorium
Hi Leftovers. (Section 8) refers to the type of establishments we open(cheap, low cost) the current economy & the current financial situation of my family and our partner Bret Lewis. I respectfully disagree with your statement of our “lack of social consciousness”. We are fully aware of what we are saying. I think the problem is that not everyone gets it. It’s okay. We don’t expect everyone to.
It sounds delicious, but does this mean that they won’t be running their operation at Mikey’s Late Night Slice anymore? I would be sad to see that go!!
Just wondering as the name sounds familiar, is this the same Bret Lewis that studied architecture at OSU?
I’d like to see the S8 be spoken as “sate”… as in, I’mma be sated on some yakitori soon!
I’m excited about this new venture – and the hours, as they’re more in line with my ability to partake. Plus, food on a stick = happiness.
It does seem similar to naming a restaurant ‘Welfare Kitchen’ as a joke, but to each their own. I like the fact that it is located in the BD and will have later evening hours.
Amusing. One of us in our party of five last Friday night was an Iraqi war vet, former Army Ranger. His comment was that “Section 8 is what you are labeled when you are discharged for mental impariment”. The owner has expressed his rationale, but why must it always be assumed that the worst possible motive or insensitivity is at play? The extent of calling fouls on this Board under the guise of lack of political awareness/correctness/sensitivity is very tiresome (to me).