A brand new concept from a James Beard finalist called Maneki is getting ready to open in The Alley at Latta Arcade, located at 320 S. Tryon St.
This is the newest concept from Sam Hunt, the James Beard finalist behind The Counter- and Biblio, along with Audra Harman and two partners to create a new hospitality group called Irreverently Refined Hospitality, according to Unpretentious Palate. Maneki will move into the former space of Fujiyama in March 2024. Chef Kenny Do, longtime chef de cuisine of Bardo, will operate the kitchen. The restaurant will be open until 2 a.m.
The restaurant will feature traditional robatayaki cooking and serve a limited selection of skewers and sides inspired by the traditional Japanese cooking method. To perfect this, Chef Kenny Do will first travel to Hokkaido, Japan, for a month before the restaurant opens to study the cooking techniques of Robata, a style of live-fire cooking popular in the country. Maneki will have a custom charcoal Konro grill in the space, with temperatures reaching up to 1,600 degrees, and will host an abbreviated omakase experience at a four-seat chef’s counter.
“We built it because I want to be able to go to a place that has good food late at night when I’m off work,” Hart tells Unpretentious Palate. “And right now there’s not much. So it’s something that honestly all the team is really excited about as well, because we get to support it and eat there afterward as well. The food itself, if you were to put it on fine china on a white tablecloth table and have a server with white gloves do it, I think it would be considered fine dining. But we just happen to be in a 475-square-foot stall with a bunch of crazy decor all around it and a grill in the center of the space.”
