Today we’d like to introduce you to Giulia Sindler.
Giulia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I never thought I would be running Kamehachi, but it really came as a kind of calling. I am proud and honored to be part of a legacy of three generations of women in my family who have cultivated a concept that endures 50 years later. My grandmother started Kamehachi in Chicago in 1967 and pioneered the first sushi bar restaurant.
Now my mother and I continue that tradition and work side-by-side each day. Through my journey, I’ve learned that if your intentions are pure, you love what you do, and you take care of your family, in the broadest terms, then success will follow. Of course, add in a little elbow grease, long hours and perseverance, too! Growing up, my brother and I would often visit Chicago, where my grandmother owned the first Kamehachi, a modest mom and pop sushi bar across from Second City in Old Town.
In those days, a visit to grandma’s meant driving to O’hare airport every day to pick up the freshly-arrived fish in her stinky station wagon, or being called down on a busy Friday night to help bus tables and then getting yelled at for holding the tray wrong. Meals with my grandmother mostly occurred after midnight, sitting around a late-night coffee shop table with a table of chain-smoking, Japanese-only-speaking chefs.
My grandmother worked long, hard hours every day, and if you ever wanted to spend time with her, you pretty much had to work at the restaurant. She worked so hard, in fact, that eventually her health failed, and she died in 1991 with the future of her big little Kamehachi hanging in the balance. The way I had witnessed it, Kamehachi was more than just a job – it was my grandmother’s life.
Early on I learned that the restaurant business had a way of intersecting with your life and taking it over. It was ripe with adrenaline-pounding problems, and huge multi-tasking requirements. It was exhausting and exhilarating, and I loved it. My grandmother always said she was going to give the business to my older brother, so it never really occurred to me that life would take me down this path.
But after my grandmother passed, I felt an incredible emotional force drawing me towards continuing her life’s work. There were setbacks and challenges in the beginning, but two years of perseverance finally led to Kamehachi re-opening at a new location in Old Town. And for the 24 years since, my mom and I have continued to carry on the family tradition.
Currently, we have the flagship Kamehachi in Old Town, a location in the north suburbs, a sushi bar in a River North hotel, and a lunch location in the Loop, as well as a sushi catering division. We also operate a fish taco concept in Old Town, which is a collaboration with pizza mogul Marc Malnati.
Has it been a smooth road?
When I started out in the business, they said I had no experience, so no one would take me seriously. Then when the business became successful, that was difficult in its own way, because you are trying to handle a living breathing thing that is flying along at an incredibly fast pace. There are forces constantly at work, controllable and uncontrollable, that can derail you at any time.
In a restaurant, there are daily challenges and fires to put out. For instance, one day half your staff has the flu leaving you short-staffed on the busiest day, the freezer breaks, the new busser drops a tray of expensive dishes, your fish delivery is wrong, and in the middle of all the madness the city inspector shows up.
And then there are the challenges of being a working mother and wife. When you choose the restaurant business, it does not come without long hours, stress under pressure, and sacrifices along the way. But most of us in the business say once it is in your blood, you wouldn’t trade it for anything.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
KAMEHACHI was the original sushi bar in Chicago. We strive to keep the artful tradition of sushi and Japanese food, with emphasis on specialty fish and the tastes and recipes that have been in our family for three generations. I love hearing from customers that they had their first sushi at Kamehachi!
They share stories of having gone on a date at my grandmother’s place, trying their first sushi there, and now they are coming back and bringing their kids. It is a great feeling to be a happy part of people’s lives for so long and to see guests return over and over through the years. We have both customers and employees that have been with us for a very long time, and it is an extremely rewarding part of the business.
We also specialize in providing sushi and sushi chef stations at events through our sushi catering division. We have done some amazing and memorable parties and events over the years with some of Chicago’s finest hotels and catering companies. Making food for other restaurant people, other chefs, or serving a celebrity is always a fun and exciting honor.
Also, Kamehachi in Old Town is host to Chicago’s only live Japanese game show – called Batsu! Batsu means punishment in Japanese and it is a hilarious and energy-driven comedy show, which runs every Friday and Saturday night upstairs in our second-floor lounge.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Chicago’s dining scene is exploding with fabulous new restaurants and chefs. But although the market and timing are great, there is also more competition than ever. For sushi restaurants, there has been a natural shift in the cycle, and many of the older independent Japanese restaurants that were around in my grandmother’s time have closed or the owners have retired.
This brings new exciting trends to the sushi industry, but it also signals an end to traditional ways and foods. There are more opportunity and attention than ever for new restaurants and exciting new ethnic food concepts in Chicago. However, running a business is more complicated these days. New ever-changing labor and tax regulations, staffing shortages, ever-shifting marketing strategies, along with rising occupancy costs add even more factors to an already challenging industry.
Pricing:
- Sushi pieces (Nigiri): $3 to $12
- Sushi rolls (Makimono): $6 to $17
- Appetizers: $6 to $13
- Entrees (Kitchen/Sushi Bar): $16 – $38
- Batsu! Show Tickets @batsulive.com: $25.50 – $50.50
- Mobile Sushi Stations (Catering): chef $75/hour ($300 minimum plus product)
Contact Info:
- Address: 1531 N. Wells Street, Chicago (Kamehachi Old Town)
1320 Shermer Road, Northbrook (Kamehachi Northbrook)
320 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago (Kamehachi Sushi Bar in Westin Chicago River North Hotel)
311 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago (Kamehachi Sushi Cafe)
1529 N. Wells Street, Chicago (Buzz Bait Taqueria) - Phone: 312-664-3663 (Kamehachi Old Town), 847-562-0064 (Kamehachi Northbrook),
312-765-8700 (Kamehachi Sushi Cafe), 312-664-2899 (Buzz Bait Taqueria) - Website: www.kamehachi.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kamehachisushi
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kamehachi
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/kamehachi
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