Sakaya NYC Blog

During our first week, we were honored to have Daimon-san from Daimon Brewery, producer of Mukune Junmai Ginjo and Tozai Honjozo and Nigori, come to visit us… along with an NHK Osaka camera crew! Within four days of having opened, we were welcoming one of western Japan’s most esteemed brewers. His visit was the focus of an NHK-TV (Japanese Government owned television network) documentary on the growing interest in sake in the U.S. It was particularly ironic for Daimon-san to be our first visitor from a sake brewery as it was his brewery that we first visited on our initial trip to Japan two years ago! It seemed perfectly natural that things had come full circle.

To kick off our schedule of tastings, we have arranged two very different sake experiences for the Holiday Season…

Sake Shichiken (Friday, 12/21, 6PM)…Learn all about and experience the pleasures of drinking this brewery’s Junmai Ginjo at different temperatures (chilled, room temperature, and warmed) from Tsushima Kitahara, the 13th generation of the founding family of this small Yamanashi-ken kura.

Joto Sake (Thursday, 12/27, 6PM)…Sample a variety of contrasting brews from the portfolio of this importer which specializes in small production, artisanal sake (“jizake“) from throughout Japan.

And, please remember that we offer samples of a number of our sake for you to taste every day. So don’t be shy, please ask us about what’s available!

Kanpai!

SAKAYA

324 E.9th Street

NYC 10003

212.505.7253

Our address is 324 E. 9th Street (between 1st and 2nd Avenues) in NYC’s East Village. However, in the finest, slightly confusing East Village tradition, we share that address with two neighboring shops (a boutique and a vintage clothing store) as well as the apartment building under which we are all located on the street level. As we don’t have our sign hanging over the sidewalk yet, just look for the sugidama, a green sphere suspended under a small roof, hanging in the window. When you see it, you’ll know that you’ve found SAKAYA!

Of course, you can always call us too at 212.505.SAKE (7253) for directions.

Kanpai!

We finally opened the shop on Saturday. It was both an exhiliarating and suspenseful day.  Tremendously excited, we awoke early and practically flew to the East Village to complete our final preparations before flipping the “Open” sign on the door at noon.  Who would come visit us?  What kind of reception would SAKAYA receive on its first day?  As retail greenhorns, we were entering uncharted waters….

Fortunately, with the amazing enthusiasm, support, patience, and generosity of an eager-to-learn-about-sake crowd of friends, neighbors, passersby, and well wishers, we enjoyed a memorable opening day.  However, it was not without its excitement.  Yes, we had a mini-crisis.  When attempting to complete our first charge transaction, we found that the DSL line, to which our credit card processing terminal was connected had gone down and was therefore inoperable. How could this be?  The waiting customers were gracious and patient with us as we struggled with the situation. Thanks to the quick thinking and technological wizardry of Hiroko and our friend and shop team memeberTimothy, an alternate phone link was improvised and our credit acceptance ability was restored.   Whew!

The opening day jitters and technology issues did little to dampen the excitement and fun of our first day.  We couldn’t be more grateful for the turnout of friends both old and new and the warm welcome that SAKAYA received on its birthday.   It was a day that we’ll never forget.

Please visit us.  We look forward to welcoming you!

Kanpai!

It has been nearly two years since our dream for SAKAYA was born. Today that dream becomes reality! We thank everyone who has helped us to find our path and to stay on it.

Please come visit us to say hello and to explore and sample some of our 85+ sake.  You’ll find everything from a smooth Honjozo masquerading as a humble Futsu-shu to an earthy, “mushroomy” Yamahai to an elegant, delicately floral Daiginjo.

Coming soon….SAKAYANYC.com.

Kanpai!

We thank the ever vigilant Grub Street for their latest post and for their patient, persistent coverage of the extended birth of our shop. And, by offering a bit more information about our sake, along with some tasting, we promise to make it easier to remember your favorites, both new and old!

Kanpai!

Read about Sakaya on Grub Street

We’ve begun to receive our inventory and are learning the intricacies of the inventory management aspect of our Point of Sale System in order to log in all stock items. Deliveries from several distributors arrived on Wednesday and Friday with the balance scheduled for early next week.

In the meantime, we are hard at work on the shelf-talker displays for each sake, building out our office space, and organizing a multitude of small but important steps necessary to opening.

Thanks for hangin’ in there, we’re coming down the home stretch!

With a few finishing touches yet to be made to the cooler display (say good-bye to the red, yellow and blue bars at the top), track lighting, and shelving, we’re targeting the last week in November for our opening!

With the cooler and checkout counter in place, the shelves finished, and floor revealed, there are a few finishing touches to be added before construction is complete.

As of this morning, this is the look of the space as the display shelves near completion.  The white “monolith” in the center of the room is the cooler which will ultimately be centered at the back of the shop.  Friends take heart,  Sakaya is slowly emerging!