Koji Kanematsu, the founder of Onigilly Japanese Kitchen, recently joined Sam Oches on the “Take-Away” podcast to talk about bringing the Japanese rice ball snack onigiri to the United States. In the conversation, Kanematsu detailed how he had to reset his brand after COVID-19 and how those pivots shaped the company’s current growth strategy, which now includes franchising and expansion into Southern California.
“I got a vision that if I bring onigiri here, people are going to be appreciative because onigiri is such a convenient food,” Kanematsu said. “I decided to focus on onigiri, and from the beginning my vision was to become a nationwide concept.”
Kanematsu’s career had started in technology, where he co-founded startups and worked on system development projects. But he also had restaurant experience from his college years in Tokyo, and the combination of tech-driven systems thinking and culinary background prepared him for entrepreneurship. In 2008 he launched Onigilly in San Francisco, starting with a farmers market tent before moving to a food cart and eventually brick-and-mortar locations in the city’s financial district.
“At first, we had a tent and went to farmers markets, and then we moved to a food cart,” Kanematsu said. “That was challenging because I'm from Japan and had no credit history. When I found a good space and wanted to open a store, I couldn't get approval from the landlord or the bank. There is an NPO called La Cocina in San Francisco’s Mission District. I joined their incubation program. They’re a food incubator. I got a fund from their lender and training from La Cocina, and then we got a food cart.”
Building awareness of onigiri was not easy. Many Americans associated rice with side dishes and expected sushi when they saw rice and seaweed. Early customers were often confused, and sales were slow. Over time, Kanematsu experimented with new fillings and adjusted the rice-to-filling ratio to create versions of onigiri that resonated more with American palates.
“At first I thought traditional onigiri could sit here, but the reality was different,” he said. “Early on, we couldn’t sell much because of cultural differences. In Japan and many Asian countries, rice is the main thing. In the West, rice is a side or not common. Onigiri translates to rice ball, so people think that’s too much rice. I wanted to adapt to the American market. It took five years to figure out the right onigiri for Americans. We changed a lot of recipes. We tried hundreds of fillings. The most important thing was the rice-to-fillings ratio.”
By the time the company had five stores, COVID-19 brought downtown San Francisco to a halt. With offices empty and foot traffic gone, Kanematsu closed all locations. He experimented with ghost kitchens and other menu concepts, but ultimately discovered a new path forward: mall kiosks. The format gave the brand visibility in high-traffic areas and positioned onigiri as a convenient snack or meal option.
“When you go to shopping centers, you don’t get many snack options,” Kanematsu said. “In the food court, the food can be too heavy. If you want a quick bite, a pretzel might be the best option, but there’s nothing savory. Onigiri can be lunch or snack. People grab one or two for a snack, or three and side dishes for a meal. We cover a lot of demands. A pretzel is a snack but not a meal. That’s why our sales are strong with such a small space.”
Today Onigilly has six locations, including kiosks and brick-and-mortar stores, and is expanding into Southern California with company-owned and franchise units. The simplified operations make the concept easy to scale while the menu reflects years of careful adaptation to American tastes.
“We’re targeting Southern California. We’ll open a few company locations there and a franchise in San Diego,” Kanematsu said. “After that, we’re targeting major cities. It can be quick. We set up the supply chain, have machine inventory, and a great franchise development team. We can be quick, but we have to be careful. We don’t want to confuse people or be seen as just sushi like in the early stages.”
Kanematsu’s journey with Onigilly has been defined by persistence and flexibility. What began under small farmers' market tents has evolved into busy mall kiosks. Kanematsu has reshaped recipes for U.S. customers while holding onto his vision of onigiri as an everyday food. After nearly 20 years, that persistence has the brand positioned for a new phase of growth.
Watch the full podcast on YouTube.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/onigilly.
Onigilly Japanese Kitchen
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Koji Kanematsu’s journey with Onigilly Japanese Kitchen shows how cultural adaptation, persistence and smart pivots can create a scalable restaurant brand.
Koji Kanematsu, the founder of Onigilly Japanese Kitchen, recently joined Sam Oches on the “Take-Away” podcast to talk about bringing the Japanese rice ball snack onigiri to the United States. In the conversation, Kanematsu detailed how he had to reset his brand after COVID-19 and how those pivots shaped the company’s current growth strategy, which now includes franchising and expansion into Southern California.
“I got a vision that if I bring onigiri here, people are going to be appreciative because onigiri is such a convenient food,” Kanematsu said. “I decided to focus on onigiri, and from the beginning my vision was to become a nationwide concept.”
Kanematsu’s career had started in technology, where he co-founded startups and worked on system development projects. But he also had restaurant experience from his college years in Tokyo, and the combination of tech-driven systems thinking and culinary background prepared him for entrepreneurship. In 2008 he launched Onigilly in San Francisco, starting with a farmers market tent before moving to a food cart and eventually brick-and-mortar locations in the city’s financial district.
“At first, we had a tent and went to farmers markets, and then we moved to a food cart,” Kanematsu said. “That was challenging because I'm from Japan and had no credit history. When I found a good space and wanted to open a store, I couldn't get approval from the landlord or the bank. There is an NPO called La Cocina in San Francisco’s Mission District. I joined their incubation program. They’re a food incubator. I got a fund from their lender and training from La Cocina, and then we got a food cart.”
Building awareness of onigiri was not easy. Many Americans associated rice with side dishes and expected sushi when they saw rice and seaweed. Early customers were often confused, and sales were slow. Over time, Kanematsu experimented with new fillings and adjusted the rice-to-filling ratio to create versions of onigiri that resonated more with American palates.
“At first I thought traditional onigiri could sit here, but the reality was different,” he said. “Early on, we couldn’t sell much because of cultural differences. In Japan and many Asian countries, rice is the main thing. In the West, rice is a side or not common. Onigiri translates to rice ball, so people think that’s too much rice. I wanted to adapt to the American market. It took five years to figure out the right onigiri for Americans. We changed a lot of recipes. We tried hundreds of fillings. The most important thing was the rice-to-fillings ratio.”
By the time the company had five stores, COVID-19 brought downtown San Francisco to a halt. With offices empty and foot traffic gone, Kanematsu closed all locations. He experimented with ghost kitchens and other menu concepts, but ultimately discovered a new path forward: mall kiosks. The format gave the brand visibility in high-traffic areas and positioned onigiri as a convenient snack or meal option.
“When you go to shopping centers, you don’t get many snack options,” Kanematsu said. “In the food court, the food can be too heavy. If you want a quick bite, a pretzel might be the best option, but there’s nothing savory. Onigiri can be lunch or snack. People grab one or two for a snack, or three and side dishes for a meal. We cover a lot of demands. A pretzel is a snack but not a meal. That’s why our sales are strong with such a small space.”
Today Onigilly has six locations, including kiosks and brick-and-mortar stores, and is expanding into Southern California with company-owned and franchise units. The simplified operations make the concept easy to scale while the menu reflects years of careful adaptation to American tastes.
“We’re targeting Southern California. We’ll open a few company locations there and a franchise in San Diego,” Kanematsu said. “After that, we’re targeting major cities. It can be quick. We set up the supply chain, have machine inventory, and a great franchise development team. We can be quick, but we have to be careful. We don’t want to confuse people or be seen as just sushi like in the early stages.”
Kanematsu’s journey with Onigilly has been defined by persistence and flexibility. What began under small farmers' market tents has evolved into busy mall kiosks. Kanematsu has reshaped recipes for U.S. customers while holding onto his vision of onigiri as an everyday food. After nearly 20 years, that persistence has the brand positioned for a new phase of growth.
Watch the full podcast on YouTube.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/onigilly.
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