Domo Hospitality Group is crossing the East River and planting a flag in Williamsburg, bringing Konya by Konban, a compact hand‑roll and izakaya concept, to a busy stretch of Kent Avenue. The new spot is set to take over a 1,850‑square‑foot ground‑floor storefront at 235 Kent Avenue, under a 10‑year lease, and will include a small outdoor patio. It will be Domo’s sixth New York City location and its first in Brooklyn.
Lease and where it will sit
According to Crain's New York Business, Capricorn Retail Advisors represented both sides of the deal, and the space previously housed Field Guide. The report notes that the unit sits just a couple of blocks from the neighborhood’s Trader Joe's and the former Showfields storefront, which is expected to be taken over by Uniqlo.
Domo's New York footprint
Domo Hospitality, founded by Jae Kim and Brian Park, runs a mix of Korean and Japanese concepts around the tri‑state area, including Ondo, BRBQ, Koban and Domodomo. Domodomo launched in SoHo in 2015 as one of New York’s early sushi hand‑roll bars, and Konya by Konban extends that hand‑roll footprint into northern Brooklyn.
Why Kent Avenue makes sense
Max Talpalar told Crain's New York Business that this stretch of Kent has been “a super successful area for restaurants,” pointing to development around Two Trees' campus that has helped drive more traffic and retail demand into the corridor. The outlet also cites REBNY data that pegs average asking rents in the immediate area at around $100 per square foot, which sheds light on why a relatively modest, patio‑equipped footprint can be appealing for a group expanding quickly.
No firm opening date was disclosed in the reporting by either the landlord or the group, but the lease signals Domo’s continued move beyond Manhattan into Brooklyn’s increasingly competitive dining scene. For Williamsburg diners, Konya by Konban shapes up as another small‑format option on a Kent Avenue strip that has steadily filled in with restaurants and retail over the past few years.
