Step inside Hotori, the new Asian home goods and gifts boutique in downtown Des Moines, to discover snacks from Japan, chocolates from Singapore, candles from Korea, and a hot sauce inspired by the producer’s Chinese grandmother. Pottery from Japan and cookbooks spanning Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, and more cuisines beckon near the cash register with potted plants elegantly arranged dotting the room.
It feels like a spot to relax on low-slung chairs, browse that colorful collection of curated cookbooks, or discover an MSG grinder or new chili oil to enhance any dish. It’s a place to hang out with Miles and Pia, the two English cocker spaniels who patrol the shop, occasionally barking at a dog passing by the tall windows looking out on Walnut Street or dozing until the next customer walks in, eager greeters ready to make Hotori feel like home.
Owners Torri Myers and Nam Ho opened this retail store in the former Amanda Reynal Interiors space at 1417 Walnut St. in Des Moines in March after a quick remodel with light woods on the walls, modern shelves, and an airy feel. The boutique highlights Asian products that reflect the couple’s cultural backgrounds.
“Many of our Korean items are seeing the state of Iowa for the very first time in our shop, and I’m so proud to bring part of my culture to my community,” Myers said.
“We always knew that we wanted to do something together. What that looked like was sort of something that evolved, but both having an Asian upbringing, we wanted to do something that reflected us culturally within the city,” Ho said.
Ho, who co-owns Horizon Line a few doors down from Hotori, grew up in West Covina, California, as a first-generation American whose family immigrated from Vietnam. Ho moved to Des Moines with a friend, not knowing anyone in the city where he embarked on an adventure to open the coffee shop seven years ago. “I think in the seven years that we’ve been open, we have built our own community, whether that be just from customers who are now friends or vice versa,” he said.
Myers grew up in Des Moines. “My mom is Korean, so I’m half Korean, and I have had that cultural background here,” said Myers, who has a background in retail, most recently at the chic beauty boutique Eden in the East Village.
After the couple started dating in 2018, they would visit stores in Southern California while hanging out with Ho’s family. “That was my first experience around stores like this as an adult,” Myers said. “I thought, ‘I can be around objects and beautiful paper goods, not just the Asian grocery store that we have here?’”
They’d travel back to Des Moines with a haul of Asian goods to decorate their home.
“We were hoping to do something like that here,” Ho said. “We felt like there weren’t a lot of shops that looked like us, or that carried some of the things that we are very familiar with. Having a store that reflected us culturally, in a city where the percentage of people who look like us is a lot lower than where I grew up.”
Hotori, which combines the couples’ names, “provides an artful shopping experience that shares our cultural and regional backgrounds in a brick-and-mortar shop. We aim to showcase and stock beautiful and functional products made by Asian and Asian-American artisans,” Ho wrote.
Aside from introducing some to their cultures through products and others to goods that will remind them of their home countries, the couple hopes to host workshops and potentially expand their inventory to include more perishable items. They also highlight the significance of their store in providing a space for cultural exchange and education, aiming to create a welcoming environment for customers from diverse backgrounds.
Where to find Hotori
Location: 1417 Walnut St., Des Moines
Contact: instagram.com/hotorimarket
Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A new Asian home goods boutique reveals products from Korea, Vietnam, and more in Des Moines
Reporting by Susan Stapleton, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
