As the Atlanta community ushers in a new year in dining, it is also mourning the loss of longtime Nakato Japanese Restaurant co-founder Kiyoshi Takahara Nakato, who died Jan. 1. He was 69 years old.
The Tokyo native Nakato moved to the U.S. in the 1970s and met his future wife, Hiroe, at Nakato Japanese Restaurant in Atlanta. They were married in 1978 in Atlanta, and he helped Hiroe open Nakato locations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
He was involved in the Japan America Society and Japanese Chamber of Commerce and helped establish the Happy Science branch in Atlanta.
Daughter Sachiyo “Sachi” Nakato Tahakara runs Nakato Japanese Restaurant today.
In addition to Hiroe and Sachi, Nakato is survived by daughter Yukiko Nakato Takahara, two son-in-laws, four granddaughters, a sister and a brother.
Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at H.M. Patterson & Son - Spring Hill Chapel. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 8, at H.M. Patterson & Son - Spring Hill Chapel. There will be a reception to follow at Nakato Japanese Restaurant, 1776 Cheshire Bridge Road, where family will receive guests.
•Ohio-based ice cream chain Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream is slated to open a location at 925 Garrett St. in Glenwood Park near Gunshow and next to planned James Bond-themed bar Vesper Bar, Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. There are five Jeni's locations in metro Atlanta, with a sixth set for the Coda development in Midtown.
•CheeseCaked Creamery and Cafe will close temporarily while owner Shawn Brown undergoes treatment for breast cancer, What Now Atlanta reports. CheeseCaked is located at 800 Miami Circle and also has a kiosk in Lenox Square Mall.
•Mediterranean fast casual eatery Bezoria is slated to open a location in the Toco Hill development in Atlanta's Toco Hills neighborhood, replacing the recently-closed The Local Pizzaiolo, Tomorrow's News Today reports. Another location is planned for the Mall Corners development on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth. Bezoria also has locations in Alpharetta and at Cumberland Mall. A Midtown location closed last month, but Bezoria's owners are actively looking for a new Midtown space.
•The first Atlanta location of Stoner's Pizza Joint will open within the next few months at 120 Piedmont Ave. on the Georgia State University campus, Atlanta Business Chronicle reports. The marijuana-themed pizzeria offers a variety of specialty pizzas as well as a build-your-own option, appetizers and side dishes known as "munchies," salads called "quality greens" and more. Stoner's has 13 locations in the Southeast and Texas, including three in Georgia. A Dunkin' Donuts is also slated to open in the space next door.
•Coffeehouse Cafe Kia-Ora is set to open its fourth metro Atlanta location this year at 3399 Peachtree Road NE in Buckhead Tower at Lenox Square, What Now Atlanta reports. The spot, which serves coffee drinks, salads, sandwiches, pastries and breakfast items, also has locations in the Synovus Building, Tech Square and in Alpharetta.
•Fuzzy's Taco Shop has closed its last metro Atlanta location at 5325 Windward Parkway in Alpharetta, Tomorrow's News Today reports.
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