The trio behind two well-liked Cary Japanese restaurants is bringing its third and biggest concept yet to North Raleigh, with an izakaya set to open in September inside the Quail Corners Shopping Center at 1200 E. Millbrook Road. Shinmai Moku will pour cocktails, grill skewers over specialty charcoal, and serve sashimi, sushi, ramen and rice dishes in a dining room built for about 70 people, plus a 10-person bar.
The restaurant comes from owners Jayden Chen, Stacia Zhong and Ming Jin, who according to the Raleigh News & Observer moved from the Bay Area to the Triangle three years ago, driving across the country in four days. The News & Observer reports that the group first opened Shinmai Shokudo, a Japanese comfort-food spot in Cary serving noodles, rice and dumplings, before following it with Shinmai Kumo, a Japanese-Italian itameshi concept in Cary's Tryon Village. Shinmai Shokudo operates at 1904 NW Maynard Road, according to the restaurant's own listing, while Shinmai Kumo debuted at 1010 Tryon Village Drive with dishes like Mentaiko Spaghetti, Tonkatsu Tagliatelle and milk-bread sandos, as detailed by the NC Triangle Dining Food Blog. Kumo's menu also includes flatbreads topped with Japanese mushrooms and mozzarella, plus linguine tossed with sweet soy sauce and parmesan.
A Bigger Concept With Fire at Its Center
Shinmai Moku marks a leap in scale for the group. Per the News & Observer, it will be the owners' biggest restaurant to date and the first to carry a full bar, a first for the Shinmai name. Chen told the paper that Jin has long dreamed of running a spot with charcoal-grilled skewers, and the design leans into that ambition with a large garage-door window meant to connect the indoor dining room to an outdoor patio.
The kitchen will rely on binchotan, a traditional Japanese charcoal made from Kishu oak that burns above 1,000 degrees Celsius without smoke or open flame, according to Restaurant Business. That intense, smoke-free heat lets cooks sear meat and seafood at high temperature while preserving natural flavor, though it requires specialized kitchen ventilation to handle indoors. Chen said North Carolina gave the group room to explore different types of Japanese cuisine, and described Moku as a place meant for friends, dates, skewers, small bites and conversation, per the News & Observer.
Millbrook Road's Dining Turnover
Shinmai Moku is landing in a shopping center with a lot of recent change. Quail Corners, built in 1975 and designed by Raleigh architect Leif Valand according to NCModernist, sits at the intersection of Millbrook and Falls of Neuse roads and has seen a wave of new leases in recent years. Barbecue concept Red Hot & Blue returned to the center in 2025, joined by Clyde Cooper's Barbecue and Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken, whose Millbrook Road plans Hoodline covered earlier this year. City of Raleigh site plan records for the address, filed under ASR-0055-2021, document the approved development framework governing commercial changes at the property.
Part of a Bigger Raleigh Izakaya Wave
Shinmai Moku isn't the only izakaya chasing Triangle diners right now. Monya Ramen, a sister concept to Raleigh's Sushi Mon, opened this summer at Glenwood Place with made-to-order ramen and creations like Birria Ramen, and the same development is expected to add Izakaya Mon later this summer with Japanese whisky, sake and shareable plates. Downtown, Kokoro Ramen & Izakaya opened in July inside City Market at 200 E. Martin Street, bringing the culinary group behind Neko Thai & Sushi in Southern Pines into the Raleigh market.
The multi-level ramen-and-izakaya format that's spreading through Raleigh traces back to Durham, where Dashi helped introduce grilled skewers and shochu pairings to the region with a downstairs ramen shop and an upstairs pub stocking more than 250 whiskeys. Whether North Raleigh's suburban dining corridor can support another Japanese concept alongside its barbecue and hot chicken newcomers remains to be seen, but the Shinmai team is betting that skewers, cocktails and a garage-door patio will set Moku apart when it opens next month.
