Wagaya owner and chef Takashi Otsuka is expanding two doors down from his longtime Emory Village restaurant, bringing a combined Japanese grocery store and sit-down tonkatsu cafe to the strip where he has served customers since 2017. The project is slated to become Wagaya Groceries’ third location, with an opening targeted by the end of 2026.
A Grocery and Cafe Rolled Into One
According to the Emory Village Alliance, Otsuka is expanding two doors down into a new grocery store and tonkatsu cafe, giving the neighborhood its first look at the concept beyond the original restaurant. As reported by WhatNow Atlanta, the Emory Village spot will mark Wagaya Groceries’ third location and is expected to open by the end of the year. The combined space will include both a grocery store stocked with Japanese and other East Asian products and a sit-down tonkatsu cafe, per that same outlet.
The tonkatsu cafe is planned to seat 30 people indoors, the Emory Village Alliance notes. WhatNow’s report adds that the new store will be about twice as large as the forthcoming Inman Park location, giving it room to house both the dining area and a full grocery operation under one roof.
Smaller Portions for Students, Plus Sushi Supplies
The Emory Village store will stock smaller portions of vegetables aimed at students and smaller households, with Otsuka explaining, “We’ll sell smaller portions of vegetables so it fits the needs of students or people who don’t have big families,” according to the Emory Village Alliance. Shoppers will also be able to find ingredients to make sushi at home, the same report states. The broader grocery lineup, per WhatNow’s coverage of the brand’s Inman Quarter plans, includes snacks, ingredients, dry instant foods, frozen foods and ready-to-go hot meals.
Wagaya Groceries already operates locations on Atlanta’s Westside and in Sandy Springs. The Sandy Springs store, which opened in 2025 at Hammond Springs Shopping Center according to Wagaya Groceries, carries a mix of pantry staples, frozen goods, fresh produce, ready meals, sweets and gifts, as described by Taking the Kids. The concept’s roots trace back to the pandemic, when, as Wagaya Groceries describes it on its own site, “Due to the impact of COVID-19 in mid-March of 2020, we opened a Japanese grocery store” inside the original Midtown restaurant. Eater Atlanta reported at the time that the market opened downstairs at Wagaya’s 14th Street location next to Chirori, featuring mostly Japanese food products, candies, sake and ingredients alongside Chinese and Korean items, along with prepared foods like katsu or tamago sandwiches and individually wrapped onigiri.
Why Groceries Over More Restaurants
Otsuka is prioritizing the grocery expansion over opening additional restaurants because of current economic conditions, WhatNow’s Emory Village report states. In the outlet’s separate coverage of the brand’s Inman Quarter plans, Otsuka is described as viewing the grocery concept as more viable as eating out becomes pricier. The sentiment lines up with the broader trend behind the expansion: a fourth Wagaya Groceries location is expected to open in a 1,045-square-foot space at Inman Quarter in summer 2027.
MGK Hospitality, which also operates the Wagaya and Nagomiya restaurants, is behind the grocery push. The Emory Village location keeps the brand rooted in the same block where its restaurant first opened in 2017, even as the company looks toward new storefronts across metro Atlanta in the months ahead.
