About
Yoshi's began in 1973 as a small, North Berkeley
sushi bar owned by a trio of struggling students
with plenty of dreams. Its founder and namesake,
Yoshie Akiba, orphaned during World War II, came
to the U.S. to study fine arts, dance and dance
therapy. She opened Yoshi's Japanese Restaurant
with her two best friends Kaz Kajimura, a
journalist and carpenter, and Hiroyuki Hori, a
painter and Japanese cook. The original North-
Berkeley, 25-seat restaurant quickly became
successful and by 1977 the three partners moved to
a larger space on Claremont Avenue in Oakland and
began introducing live music in their restaurant.
Over the next 20 years, Yoshi's built itself into
one of the world's most respected jazz venues and
won a reputation as the Bay Area's premier
location for people who were looking for great
food and the best jazz. Yoshi's has hosted
legendary jazz greats such as Betty Carter, Max
Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Diana Krall,
Branford Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, Harry Connick Jr.
and Oscar Peterson among hundreds of others.
Yoshi's Oakland
In 1997, Yoshi's was invited by the Port of
Oakland to relocate to Jack London Square as part
of a plan to revitalize the area. Together with
Morimoto Architects, Yoshi's built an award-
winning 330-seat jazz club with a state-of-the-art
sound system and design. Occupying 17,000 square
feet in the heart of Jack London Square, the club
is in it's tenth year in that location which has
become one of the East Bay's greatest
destinations. The restaurant and lounge have a
combined capacity of 220. In 1998 Peter Williams
was hired as the club's artistic director. Under
his leadership, the club has continued to present
the finest in jazz music, as well as world music,
blues, neo-soul, latin jazz and afro-cuban music.
In fall of 2006, Kajimura decided that it was time
to elevate the menu to the quality of the jazz by
recruiting Executive Chef Shotaro 'Sho' Kamio, one
of the Bay Area's top chefs to make the change.
Chef Kamio (formerly of Ozumo) brought a whole new
generation of modern Japanese cuisine to Yoshi's,
which instantly put it on the map as a destination
to dine in addition to the best place to hear
great live music.
Yoshi's San Francisco
Yoshi's San Francisco at Fillmore Heritage Center
Yoshi's Jazz Club & Japanese Restaurant will open
its second Bay Area location in November of 2007.
Located at 1300 Fillmore Street (at Eddy), the new
location will be a 28,000 square-foot, two-story,
state-of-the-art venue and will feature the best
of local, national and international jazz artists
with seating for 417 in the jazz club and nearly
371 in the restaurant and lounge. Not only will it
be a great destination for live music, but it will
also be a great place to dine. Executive Chef
Kamio will oversee the menus at both San Francisco
and Oakland Yoshi's. Chef Sho's menu in San
Francisco will feature a slightly different
version of his modern take on Japanese cuisine,
which will surely enhance the overall Yoshi's
experience, making it the only place in the City
with great food and world-class jazz.