If you shop at Perish Trust, you might have noticed something recently missing in the back: Umami Mart. That’s because theJapanese kitchenware pop-up shop's tenure has come to an end after a little over a year. In fact, its last day was Christmas Eve 2014, but the store as a whole has been busy putting itself back together after a major flood occurred there on New Year’s Eve.
Now, with the front of the house fully retooled, Perish Trust owners Rod Hipskind and Kelly Ishikawa are beginning to remodel the space formerly occupied by Umami Mart in order to make way for a new section devoted entirely to all the kitchenware items the store carries.
Umami Mart was originally only supposed to be a pop-up for the 2013 holiday season, but things went so well that Umami Mart's Yoko and Kayoko ended up sticking around until the following Christmas. When asked about the unplanned extension, Hipskind replied, “They’re nice, and they are friends of ours. They were doing great back there and they are great collaboration. It was mutually beneficial ... we’ll miss them!”
The space in the back is an actual kitchen, so Hipskind and Ishikawa will keep the basic structure but spruce it up a bit with some artisan fixtures made by friends. The newly remodeled area will be open to the public by the end of the month, and a party will be held in celebration of the new digs on February 26th.
As far as the future is concerned, Hipskind doesn’t see any new partnerships forming for some time. “No new pop-ups,” he told us. “We’re just kind of doing our own thing for a while. The remodel will allow us to expand every part of the store.” He also said that they had a few different ideas with what to do with the new real estate in the front of the shop.
If you were a fan of the goods Umami Mart carried, don’t worry. The Perish Trust’s newly expanded kitchenware section will still carry several of their items, and you can also visit Umami Mart's flagship store over in Old Town Oakland, which is slated to start selling Japanese beer and sake this spring.
