The Enquirer is commemorating Black History Month this year through a video series that highlights different Black-owned restaurants and the modern-day history makers who founded them. This is part 1.
Jason Chapman, co-owner of Yakitori Hibachi Lounge, fell in love with the Japanese culinary tradition during his first visit to Benihana.
Chapman was enamored with the theatrical, tableside performances, including the onion volcano, heart-shaped rice, knife spins and shrimp flips. But the local restaurateur was particularly blown away by the freshly-made dishes.
After a few more visits to the Japanese steakhouse chain, Chapman grew bored of the Hibachi performance and focused on the teppanyaki chefs instead. So, he started re-creating the recipes at home, inspiring him to later open his own hibachi restaurant with his childhood friend Kenneth Bibb.
“I wanted to bring something different. You don’t see many Black-owned hibachi restaurants in the city of Cincinnati or anywhere for that matter,” Chapman said.
How a barbershop became an urban hibachi lounge
In September 2021, the Cincinnati natives acquired an old barbershop in Roselawn, just around the corner from where they grew up.
While Bibb and Chapman could’ve opened their “urban hibachi lounge” anywhere in the city, they wanted to bring a unique experience to their community of Roselawn, which they said lacks dining options.
“It’s definitely something to be proud of, to have something of our own right here in our neighborhood, in our community that we grew up in. So, hopefully this can be a stepping stone for other businesses to come and develop here,” Bibb said.
To save money, Chapman said he and Bibb did most of the demolition themselves, using nothing but a sledgehammer and tools. Their hard work eventually paid off when they opened Yakitori in June 2023.
“It was a total redevelopment,” Bibb said.
“It was probably some of the most labor-intensive work we’ve done in a very long time, but we made it happen,” Chapman added.
Chapman said he and Bibb paid rent for two years before they “made a grain of rice.” They even had to sell a few personal belongings, including Chapman’s motorcycle, to stay afloat.
Now, Yakitori is thriving, employing more people than ever and expanding its hours.
“We are just very grateful, thankful and blessed,” Chapman said.
Yakitori serves ‘hibachi-style food made with love and soul’
Although Bibb knows his way around a grill, the Purcell Marion alumn prefers to work behind the scenes at Yakitori. Whereas Chapman handles the culinary side of the business, from running the kitchen to developing the menu, which includes classic hibachi dishes such as fried rice and udon noodles served with a choice of protein, vegetables and yum yum sauce.
Yakitori’s menu also features several specialty items inspired by Chapman’s soul food background, likely not found at other Japanese steakhouses. This includes deep-fried salmon bites, sweet teriyaki wings, jerk lamb chops, hibachi fries, burritos and a colossal fried lobster tail.
“It’s your typical hibachi-style food made with love and soul,” he said.
Yakitori, located at 7505 Reading Road, is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1-7 p.m. Sundays.
Catch The Enquirer’s video with Bibb and Chapman at the top of the page, and keep an eye out for the next installment of the series.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How a former barbershop became a hibachi lounge with soul
Reporting by Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
