[PLACEHOLDER · Name]
Then · [PLACEHOLDER]
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences — what Brian saw, what they ran, the instinct that made them stand out.]
[PLACEHOLDER · where they are now]
Consulting · Oakland
Kakui
[PLACEHOLDER: 1-sentence thesis for Kakui — what the room was, what it asked of the program, what Brian delivered.]
01 · The brief
Operational evaluation + conceptual upgrade, Montclair Village.
Operational evaluation and conceptual upgrade for Kakui, an Oakland sushi restaurant under the same ownership group as Shinmai. Scope covered a revised menu positioning, administrative and accounting systems overhaul, and a full staff training program on service standards and hospitality ideology.
Oakland, Montclair Village. Kakui is the sister operation to Shinmai under the same ownership group — a sushi restaurant with a neighborhood clientele and a program that needed operational refresh rather than a ground-up rebuild. Different scope from Shinmai; different problem set.
Evaluation came first: where the existing program was losing margin, where the service was losing guests, where the administrative systems were losing time. Recommendations followed the evaluation, not the other way around.
The upgrade scope: revised menu positioning against the neighborhood's actual demand curve, rebuilt administrative and accounting systems for clean daily reporting, and a full staff training program covering service standards, product knowledge, and the ideology behind hospitality. The venue still operates in Montclair Village.
02 · The work
Evaluate, reposition, train.
Three deliverables, each conditional on the findings from the previous.
01
Operational evaluation
Full operational review — margin, service, systems, staff — before any recommendation.
No assumption carried from the prior Shinmai engagement.
02
Menu + concept positioning
Menu repositioned against the Montclair Village demand curve; concept hooks sharpened where they were drifting.
The upgrade the neighborhood needed, not a ground-up rebuild.
03
Systems + staff training
Administrative and accounting systems rebuilt; staff training on service standards, product knowledge, and the ideology behind hospitality.
Daily close and service discipline both rebuilt.
03 · The room
IMG · 4:5Bar, service · [placeholder]
IMG · 4:3Menu detail · [placeholder]
IMG · 4:5Room, late night · [placeholder]
04 · The team
The team Brian built.
Who ran the room. Both are still in the industry.
[PLACEHOLDER · Name]
Then · [PLACEHOLDER]
[PLACEHOLDER · 2 sentences — what they brought, the moves they ran, why their palate mattered.]
[PLACEHOLDER · where they are now]
03 · Recognition
Fifteen-plus years in Montclair Village.
Kakui opened February 2010 as owner Yingji Huang's first Oakland restaurant. Press is concentrated around the opening, with additional coverage via Shinmai's 2017 launch framing Kakui as the reputation-builder that preceded it.
Yingji eager to fill the gap for a top-notch sushi restaurant in Montclair Village. Confirmed 2060 Mountain Blvd; former Jamba Juice space.Read the piece
Yingji Huang, who also owns Montclair's Kakui. Andy Liu identified as former sushi chef at Kakui before co-founding Shinmai.Read the piece
Chef Yingji Huang, best known for his Kakui Sushi in Oakland's Montclair neighborhood, opened his second restaurant.Read the piece
04 · Still running
Active in Montclair Village.
Kakui still operates under the same ownership group.
A note from Brian
An existing room with a real clientele doesn't need a rebuild. It needs the evaluation done honestly and the upgrade done specifically.
Brian Howard
Owner & Founder, Liquid Chef Consulting