When Yuta Kamori opened Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar in April 2022 he didn’t have any aspiration to own a restaurant group.
“The goal was simple,” he said. “I just wanted to create the kind of Japanese places that I personally wished existed in New Haven.”
It is so authentic that even the ultra-clear ice cubes are imported from Japan.
Call him an overachiever.
Four additional businesses later, including three more restaurants and a market, Kamori has been named Connecticut’s Restaurateur of the year by the Connecticut Restaurant & Hospitality Association. He co-founded Hachiroku Group with friend and business partner, Hiroyuki Fujii.
“Yuta has quickly become one of the driving forces behind New Haven’s evolving culinary scene, bringing authentic Japanese food, hospitality and culture to Connecticut,” Scott Dolch, president and CEO of CRHA said in an email. “Born and raised in Japan, Kamori and his partners launched Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar in 2022 and have since grown their vision into five distinctive New Haven concepts.”
Yuta Kamori has been named Connecticut’s Restaurateur of the year by the Connecticut Restaurant & Hospitality Association. He co-founded Hachiroku Group with friend and business partner, Hiroyuki Fujii. (Courtesy)
Kamori said the award “means a lot.” But, while his name is on the award, he shares the accolades with the whole team because no one builds or runs a restaurant alone, he said.
“There have definitely been long days and difficult moments when we wondered whether all the work was worth it, so this recognition makes me feel like some of that hard work has paid off,” he said.
“Looking forward, I don’t just want Hachiroku to become bigger. I want it to become deeper. There are still so many sides of Japanese food, drinks, hospitality, and culture that we can share.”
After opening Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar, 261 Orange, in April 2022, the group opened Hachiroku Handroll Bar & Tapas, at 966 State St. in February 2023; The Loop by Hachiroku, 367 Orange St. opened in June 2024; and 116 Cocktail Bar in March 2025. Most recently they opened The Loop Market, 20 George St. in July.
Yuta Kamori has been named Connecticut’s Restaurateur of the year by the Connecticut Restaurant & Hospitality Association. He co-founded Hachiroku Group with friend and business partner, Hiroyuki Fujii. (Courtesy)
Kamori said they weren’t trying to build an empire, but one idea just naturally led to another.
“Each place has a very different personality, but they all share the same DNA,” Kamori said. “I don’t want every Hachiroku concept to look the same or feel the same. Actually, I like that they’re different. But underneath, they share the same values: attention to detail, good ingredients, hospitality, and a real respect for Japanese food and culture.”
He loves it when guests walk into one of the businesses not knowing they’re related and think, “This kind of feels like Hachiroku,” Kamori said.
He said Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar is “probably the most traditional and authentic expression of Japanese food for us.”
“It’s rooted in the kind of Izakaya and Shokudo culture that I grew up with,” he said.
The Handroll Bar, he said, is all about the counter experience. It’s small with 14-foot bar and one table.
“It’s fresh, direct, and interactive. The handroll is made right in front of you, and you eat it right away,” he said. “There’s a very immediate connection between the chef, the food, and the guest.”
The Loop is more relaxed and very wine-focused, he said.
“We put a lot of emphasis on natural wines and smaller producers that you don’t necessarily see everywhere,” he said. “We have people running the wine program who really understand and love wine, so it’s a place where people can discover something new.”
It’s also a hybrid between a restaurant and a small market with a grocery section, takeout, sushi, and bento.
116 Cocktail Bar at 116 Crown St., once home to the iconic 116 Crown, has more of a nightlife energy, but food is a big part of it too. They serve sushi, but one of their signature items is the Hachiroku burger made from Wagyu beef and Japanese teriyaki sauce. The truffle fries are sprinkled with seaweed flakes.
Yuta Kamori has been named Connecticut’s Restaurateur of the year by the Connecticut Restaurant & Hospitality Association. He co-founded Hachiroku Group with friend and business partner, Hiroyuki Fujii. (Courtesy)
The ice cubes at all their restaurants and bars are imported from Japan where technology is used to make them from “crystal clear” pure water.
“You don’t see the ice in the glass if it’s a colored liquid,” he said.
The Loop Market is the newest concept, and fully a market.
“We wanted to create a place where Japanese food could become part of people’s everyday lives. People can stop in for sashimi, sushi, bento, wagyu, groceries, and other Japanese products and take them home,” Kamori said, “It’s less about a restaurant experience and more about making good Japanese food and ingredients easy to access on a regular basis.”
The businesses aren’t far from one another in downtown New Haven.
Kamori said there are not a lot of Japanese people in New Haven, but business has been brisk as there are many regulars among the businesses. New Haven is also known for its foodies, and there are plenty giving rave reviews to the Hachiroku Group businesses online.
Guests call the restaurants “a great experience , “Amazingly thoughtful food,” and the food “amazing,” “Absolutely incredible food,” “fresh fish,” “Intricate and artistic flavours.”
“Awesome place with a Brooklyn vibe,” one reviewer said of the hand roll restaurant. Another calls Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar a “rare gem” with a “stunning menu.”
Another calls the fresh sushi “decadent,” an adjective most often used for chocolate.
“I absolutely adore this place!,” one guest wrote. “My friend and I had an amazing time here. The food was incredible, top-notch! “It’s cozy and romantic, perfect for a relaxing evening or dates”
Guests say the servers are knowledgeable, attentive and fun.
“If you are look for incredible tasting food, fresh fish, Intricate and artistic flavours and most importantly passion from the chefs and staff this is the best place to come,” a guest wrote.
There are many mentions of the cuisine and alcohol being pricey, but many add lines such as, “It’s worth it.”
Kamori said one of the things “I really love about New Haven is how local and connected the community feels.”
“You start to recognize people, and they recognize you. Someone might come to Shokudo one night, stop by The Loop a few days later, visit the market, and then you see them again somewhere else in town,” he said. “That kind of connection is really special to me. There isn’t a huge Japanese community here, so building a real relationship with the broader local community has always been extremely important to us.”
Yuta Kamori has been named Connecticut’s Restaurateur of the year by the Connecticut Restaurant & Hospitality Association. He co-founded Hachiroku Group with friend and business partner, Hiroyuki Fujii. (Courtesy)
He said “local support” is one of the biggest reasons they’ve been able to grow.
Kamori moved to the United States about 20 years ago to attend university in New York City as an international student. He’s from Wakayama, Japan and majored in entrepreneurship management, never imagining he’d go into the restaurant business, although his mom is a great cook and his dad had a restaurant.
In New York as a student he worked at a restaurant then brushed with the restaurant industry and food as a salesman, exporter/importer, and consultant.
Then he had the opportunity to open a Ramen to-go restaurant right before the pandemic. It was a great choice, he said, because soon restaurants with indoor dining were closing while the takeout ramen thrived. To up the popularity and sales, they sold extra fancy bento boxes.
As covid wound down, he moved to New Haven to open a restaurant because it was all he could afford between New York and Boston.
Hachiroku Shokudo & Sake Bar opened about nine months later. Hachiroku Shokudo translates in English to 86, representing restaurant slang for cancel the order and is also he and his business partner’s birth year.
The place used to be an Irish pub and the decor is industrial rather than Japanese.
He said they use simple, but high quality ingredients across the board to wow taste buds.
They serve real Japanese sushi, tapas or small plates and 50-100 types of sake that comes with a sake education to anyone who asks. They also have Japanese whiskey and other liquors from the island country.
“They can taste Japan without going to Japan,” he said.
Kamori said he was surprised to get the statewide award because even though they have several locations, “no one knows of us outside New Haven.”
But that could all change because they’re looking to expand and grow the company in Connecticut.
AloJapan.com