Los Angeles vegan-focused restaurant Kimama Cafe is looking to open its first brick-and-mortar with the help of a fundraiser.
Co-owners and sisters Marine Lulu and Millie Nene Nabeshima started this plant-based Japanese food pop-up at the start of the pandemic in 2020. By 2021 the two began serving at local farmer’s markets within Orange County and LA. At the moment, customers can find this. Now, the owners are looking to open a storefront in either Mar Vista or Culver City. To make these dreams more of a reality, the sisters have a GoFundMe goal of $30,000, having reached less than $2,000.
“Our mission at Kimama Cafe is to serve wholesome meals from local, sustainable, and environmentally conscious sources,” according to the company’s website. “We infuse macrobiotic concepts of our Japanese roots with the Californian health-conscious diet – our food is prepared with love and is organic and as local as possible. Our menu highlights our commitment to reducing food waste and supporting small-scale local producers.”
As the sisters continue raising funds to open this brick-and-mortar, they have provided updates via GoFundMe. A couple of months ago, the owners were in the last steps of exchanging lease proposals and are now waiting on the signing of the final draft. Much of these donations will go toward this first phase of initial payments upon lease, according to the fundraiser. Once the lease agreement is finished, the owners will start minor construction of the place to get the kitchen up-to-date.
