Thanks to you, Hinoya Curry SF celebrated its first anniversary this Sunday, February 13, 2022.

We launched our business at the height of the pandemic in 2021. On opening day, over 100 customers waited in line around the block in the cold and rain. For the first two months, we were open only on weekends; gradually we opened more days and included outdoor dining and delivery. We have come a long way in this short period of time, but we still have a long way to go to realize our goal – to introduce authentic, Japanese Curry to the U.S. and make it as popular as it is in Japan. Unbeknownst to many, the Japanese people consume more curry than even ramen, sushi, and tempura. We want to make Japanese curry as mainstream as ramen and sushi have become in the U.S. market!

To better align with our mission, we changed our name from Hinoya Curry SF to Nippon Curry, effective February 1, 2022. “Nippon” is Japanese for “Japan”. By re-branding ourselves to Nippon Curry, we aim to promote Japanese Curry as a whole, instead of just a brand. We have an aggressive expansion plan over the next few years.

We brought Hinoya Curry to the U.S. because we believe it is the true representation of the standard, orthodox Japanese Curry amongst hundreds of different kinds that are available in Japan. After the name change, Nippon Curry will be run by the same management team, as we have the exclusive license to market the Hinoya brand in the U.S. For those of you who love Japanese Curry from Hinoya, fear not, you can continue to expect the same great taste and Japanese hospitality, “Omotenashi” at Nippon Curry! Thank you again for your tremendous support this past year to help get us off the ground, and we hope to see you THIS weekend to help us celebrate our first anniversary!! MORE to come on that! Thank you for sharing!