1365 Osage Street
Denver, Colorado 80204
and Feed the World
303-595-3666
info@domorestaurant.com
New Year Message from Gaku Homma, Domo Owner and Head Chef
January 1st, 2009
I would like thank our Domo customers for all of your support in 2008 and offer my Best Wishes for a very Happy New Year in 2009!
Domo Japanese Country Foods Restaurant first opened its doors at this location in October 1996, and with your support, Domo has gained in notoriety and popularity ever since. For this opportunity, we thank you.
When the new facility for Nippon Kan Culture Center was first built, the space currently occupied by Domo Restaurant was intended to be a classroom where we could offer classes in Japanese cooking. We discovered however that commercial kitchen equipment was required even for cooking classes so we decided that with that kind of investment we would have to open as a restaurant instead.
On the day Domo opened, the menus were not finished, and the staff of four barely had time to change out of their construction clothes and into restaurant attire before the doors opened. I was the one and only chef, and the dishwasher was the chief carpenter responsible for the building remodel. The reception was manned by Don who had also spent months helping in the construction efforts and Emily who was serving as the Nippon Kan new facility coordinator.
About one month later, a food critic from Channel 4 came to Domo for dinner and reported his experiences on the evening news. From that day forward, Domo has grown steadily and has expanded its seating both inside and outside exponentially. Today Domo has a staff of about 25 and has served many thousands of guests in the last thirteen years.
Customers from around the world have been delighted with Domo’s rustic, traditional Japanese interiors and garden décor which except for basic mechanical installations, was built entirely by our crew and an army of Nippon Kan volunteers.
Our budget was very limited at the time and we saved where we could by using old recycled wood that could not even be planed because of the number of nails and screws lodged to the core. So instead, we antiqued the wood by burning, brushing and waxing each piece by hand with candle wax. Some of the posts used in the museum are over 100 years old and were previously used as weight bearing structural beams.
Before Domo opened, the area that is now the garden was covered with asphalt. We tore up the asphalt, dug holes for the ponds and had a load of boulders brought in from a local Colorado quarry. Many of the boulders were so large that they stayed where they landed after tumbling from the truck and we built the garden around them. The entire landscape plan was created in twenty four hours by our non-stop crew who worked to beat the clock. We had to work fast since we could not afford to keep the rented heavy equipment for more than twenty four hours! We were lucky, that the boulders landed just right to make the garden you see today.
The large tree inside the main dining room and other trees that were used for wall décor and stumps for chairs were all donated by Swingle Tree Surgeon Company. These trees had all been previously cleared and use at Domo was a perfect way to recycle them. Every part of the tree was used, even the bark which can be found as decorative interior eaves.
All of the antiques and folk art are authentic and hand carried personally from Japan. Today some of these crafts are difficult to find even in Japan! All together, even if made by hand and sometime a little drafty, Domo has an atmosphere that is natural, appealing and nostalgic to our customers.
The garden and interior décor are not the only things that are unique at Domo Japanese Country Foods Restaurant.
When Domo first opened, the menu featured traditional Japanese country dishes made mostly with vegetables and grains with possibly a little chicken, or fish that was available at the local supermarket. Beef and pork were not featured items on the menu nor were expensive sushi fish like Maguro (tuna) or Hamachi (Yellowtail).
My goal was to serve authentic dishes used in the Japanese countryside and I also was concerned about the depletion of resources in the use of exotic fish. I soon learned however that there were business realities I had to face in an American market that were a little different than my personal tastes and beliefs. Customer demand dictated that more meats and sea foods be added to our menu; items that customers were more familiar with and had experienced in other Japanese restaurants.
Being sensitive to customer demand, Domo has added more meats and sea foods to our menu, but we have however maintained our integrity and all of the dishes served at Domo reflect our style and taste. There are a few of my principles however I have strictly adhered to, to this day. The first is that Domo does not serve soy sauce on the tables for customer personal use. There are many reasons why, and if you are interested please link here to “A Story of Soy Sauce”.
One other principle I have remained faithful to is that Domo has always remained a Japanese country foods restaurant and that there is no sushi bar at Domo. While I eat sushi myself, I have an issue with the exorbitant prices that sushi commands. Two slices of Maguro tuna on small pads of rice cost on average $5.00, two slices of salmon $4.00 and Toro (fatty tuna) can cost up to $10.00 per piece! All of these sushi items cost at least six to seven times the cost of the fish, and Unagi (fresh water eel) costs an average twelve times the actual price of the eel. Sometimes sushi bars have special deals with “$1.00 sushi” and they still make a profit at this price!
I also worry about the environment impact the “sushi boom” has had on the natural habitats and life cycles of the more exotic of the fish used for sushi. These fish are disappearing from the planet, and over fishing is the cause.
At Domo we are frequently asked why we do not have a sushi bar and occasionally customers will ask for the sushi bar and leave when told there is none. On this principle however I will not waiver. I do not believe in adding to the demand for exotic fish and all of the energy resources that are need to import them to the Rocky Mountain region.
Today we have food channel networks that encourage gourmet competitions, each chef working to create the most exotic and expensive creation possible. These culinary competitions symbolize an endless race into decadence utilizing fancy equipment, and more and more exotic ingredients from around the world. This might symbolize a viable lifestyle for some who can afford such luxuries, but it is a very small percentage of our world’s population that can afford such folly.
After years now in this business and having watched “food fads” come and go, prices sky rocket and resources dwindle, I find that I am returning to my original philosophy with Domo that I began so long ago.
We are still very busy at Domo Japanese Country Foods Restaurant, but in the future I feel like I am ready to return to Domo’s original philosophy of simplicity and tradition. We are working now on a menu to include a traditional Japanese country breakfast along these traditional lines. To simplify, conserve resources and energy and continue our service to the community will remain as our operating theme.
Domo Restaurant is housed in Nippon Kan Culture Center, a 501(c)3 Federal non-profit organization first established in 1978 and plays an important role in the overall cultural and humanitarian purposes of the center.
Currently Nippon Kan’s local and international cultural and humanitarian efforts are conducted through AHAN (The Aikido Humanitarian Active Network). Nippon Kan AHAN supports projects world-wide and Domo is a primary sponsor for all AHAN activities. Two of our many projects include:
*Supplying one ton of rice per month for two orphanages in Bangladesh
Domo owner Gaku Homma and AHAN International Program Director Emily Busch buying rice in Dhaka.
Rice delivery at the orphanage.
Domo Owner Gaku Homma at the girl’s orphanage.
*Eighteen years of consecutive service and 50,000 meals served to the homeless at the Denver Rescue Mission.
Serving Sushi!
Domo Owner with Denver City Councilwoman Judy Montero
City Council Proclamation recognizing
50,000 meals served
Colorado Governor Ritter’s letter of recognition
for 50,000 meals served.
More information on all of AHAN’s many project in other countries like Nepal, the Philippines, East Timor, Mongolia, Guatemala, Mexico, Turkey, and more can be found on the Nippon Kan website at www.nippon-kan.org. Proceeds from every meal served at Domo are used to help fund these many projects world-wide. I hope that this year too, our customers and friends at Domo will continue to support our efforts with your patronage.
“Dine at Domo and Feed the World!”
Currently on display at Domo are a collection of Flags, flown for good luck by Japanese fisherman to appease the “gods” and bring home a successful catch for the day. These flags are raised on fishing boats as they enter and leave their ports and are called Tairyoki. These colorful flags are hand made of batik dyed cotton which are very difficult to find these days. Most tairyoki today are machine made of nylon. One boat traditionally can fly from five to ten flags and when a group of boats leave harbor together it is a wonderfully colorful sight indeed!
Japanese Good Luck Fisherman flags.
To enjoy the atmosphere, I suggest one of Domo’s seafood nabe (pot dish) and a flask of hot sake!
Come down and enjoy with us at
Domo Japanese Country Foods Restaurant, this New Year!