November 2016
It makes sense that Japanese cuisine, which emphasizes seasonality in its cooking, would be a good fit for the Rogue Valley, where fresh, seasonal ingredients are abundant and available year ‘round.
Little Tokyo is a Japanese restaurant that opened this past July at 29 North Main Street, right on the Ashland Plaza. Owner Annie Lee wanted to bring her spin on how Japanese-inspired dishes and sushi pair well with Rogue Valley ingredients to Ashland restaurant-goers.
Annie moved to Ashland five years ago from Central Point, where she owned Zen Zen, a sushi and teriyaki restaurant. Annie sold Zen Zen as well as her other food businesses so that she could focus on Little Tokyo.
“Besides Zen Zen, I also owned the sushi counters in the Southern Oregon University cafeteria and at the Medford Fred Meyer store,” she says. “I sold the counters and opened Little Tokyo because I love the social interactions in a restaurant environment, and I wanted to be in charge of my own work hours.”
Annie opened Little Tokyo with her son and daughter, and a close family friend. Her goal is to create what she describes as “a comfortable restaurant experience with home recipes and a type of Asian fusion.”
Annie loves sharing Asian culture with her customers. It’s one of the main reasons why she loves the interaction that operating a restaurant affords her. She believes that food is a powerful way to share a culture, and is delighted to have the opportunity to introduce Little Tokyo customers to the many fresh, delicious flavors of Japanese cuisine.
The foods served at Little Tokyo are prepared home-style, with an emphasis on fresh ingredients, prepared with care and served in generously sized portions.
Annie takes particular pride in the staff that she’s assembled at Little Tokyo.
“We have very friendly servers and hard-working chefs,” she says. “They keep our customers happy, our food tasting delicious and our kitchen clean and productive.”
Although Little Tokyo specializes in Japanese-inspired dishes and sushi prepared with only the freshest ingredients, Annie hopes to expand the restaurant’s offerings in the coming year. She plans to add more gluten-free and vegetarian dishes to the menu. She also has plans for the restaurant to make and sell homemade Kimchi, Asian pickles, and organic tofu.
“I want to focus on offering even more healthy menu items,” she says. “I want customers to enjoy being here, and to feel good about eating at our restaurant.”
For more info, the phone number is 541-708-6366. You can also like them on Facebook.
