Dig In
The single-cuisine food market movement
Japan Village, a 20,000-square-foot all-things-Japanese market, opened at Industry City on Brooklyn’s waterfront. Started by Tony and Takuya Yoshida, owners of Michelin-starred restaurant Kyo Ya and grocery chain Sunrise Mart, the complex contains a grocery store serving delicacies like homemade tofu, fresh soy milk, and Wagyu beef. The remaining space includes a bakery, a juice and salad bar that focuses on vegetables like shiso and komatsuna, an izakaya (an informal Japanese pub), and a liquor store specialising in the country’s upstart whiskeys, wines, and sakés. The owners are reported to have signed a lease for an additional 20,000 square feet within Industry City, which they aim to use for classes, exhibits, and retail.
Japan Village is a Japanese answer to the single-cuisine food market movement, which greets consumers’ demand for cultural immersion along with regional culinary delights. It joined the likes of Italian food superpower Eataly and French-inspired Le District that already prosper as single-cuisine marketplaces in North America and around the world. And there are more: Hill Country Food Park, a food hall inspired by the food-truck culture of Austin, TX just opened in Downtown Brooklyn; and over at Hudson Yards, Mercado Little Spain, a Spanish take on the idea, just opened in March. It looks like people have found a way to explore more of the world through their palates without compromising authenticity or quality.
Sources: The New York Times (November 26, 2018) | The Wall Street Journal (November 17, 2018) | Eater (October 30, 2017) | Image: Eugene Gologursky/Getty