Meet Ilka Komatsu of Temakira in Long Beach and in Orange County (Costa Mesa)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilka Komatsu.

Ilka, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Brazil, most specifically in São Paulo, the largest city in the country and where the largest Japanese community outside of Japan is located. Being of Japanese descent, the Japanese culture and food was part of my whole life.

I first moved to the US in 1998 to study. I lived in San Francisco, where I started my professional career in the financial industry and ended up staying for five years.

My brother, who is my business partner at Temakira, moved to Southern California in 2014, after having lived for several years in Japan. In November 2014, he opened our first location (E 17th Street, in Costa Mesa).

In 2015, he invited me to join his venture. I have a great love for food, so although not having any experience in the food industry, I have accepted his invitation and moved to the US once again, but this time to Orange County (Costa Mesa), where I currently live.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has not. As they say, the restaurant business is not for the faint of heart.

There are so many aspects that make it challenging, but with good planning, constant improvement, being diligent about cost management, adapting to the market variables and always focusing on high quality and fresh ingredients, we have been able to beat the odds so far.

The pandemic hit us extremely hard and we had to close one of our locations in Costa Mesa (at the OCMix). But we are thankful that our other 2 locations are open and serving our customers with fresh and healthy food during these difficult times.

Temakira – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Temakira combines Brazilian creativity and Japanese tradition with a So Cal flare. With 2 locations, one in Orange County (Costa Mesa) and another one in Long Beach, Temakira introduces a new way to sushi – in a fun and contemporary setting. Temakira’s freshly made hand rolls and bowls are a great option for lunch, a light snack or dinner.

Hand roll in Japanese is temaki. We combined this with the Japanese word kira which means “coming of hope.” In addition, the hand roll shops in Brazil, on which Temakira is modeled after, are called temakerias.

We wanted to stay true to the Japanese heritage of the temaki while adding elements from the creativity of Brazil along with the laid-back mindset and diversity of Southern California, including Mexican flavors too.

Mexican and Japanese cooking are both recognized as World Heritage Cuisines so it is neat to be able to combine them, the flavors compliment each other perfectly.

To find out more about Temakira’s creations of unique and original flavors, visit us at https://www.temakira.com.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
We have a large base of regulars that support our business, many of whom have been coming since the beginning and visit us in our multiple locations. It is always rewarding to see our regular customers that enjoy our food and keep coming back – and this has only been possible because of the great employees we’ve been able to gain as part of the family.

It is great to see the level of popularity Japanese food has reached in the US and we are excited to be a part of that movement.

Contact Info:

• Address: 259 E 17th Street – Costa Mesa, CA 92626
  4150 McGowen Street, unit 11 (at The Hangar / LBX) – Long Beach, CA 90808
• Website: www.temakira.com
• Phone: (949) 650-0305
• Email: eat@temakira.com
• Instagram: temakira_handrolls
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Temakirahandrolls/

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