Tuna Kahuna NAMED Top 100 Places to eat in America by Yelp
Why we do this...
Ask anyone in the restaurant game about opening a restaurant and you’ll get a mixture of responses ranging from…
“You’re working against all odds”
“Your social life is over”
“You’ll never see your family again”
“Don’t f**kn do it!”
These words of wisdom can go on and on. They’re all wildly hilarious. And statistically, they’re all pretty damn true. Opening a restaurant is tough. It’s long grueling hours. Everyday you’re trying to prove yourself again to a new audience. At times, the “dream” gets lost in the abyss we industry folks call, the “grind”.
And then there are those days that makes it all worth it. You get reminded of why you risked everything, despite all odds, to chase a dream. Today is one of those days. Earlier we received the news that Tuna Kahuna made Yelp’s top 100 places to eat in the Bay Area. Shortly after, Yelp’s top 100 places to eat in America and this morning we were featured on ABC 7 News and Forbes, something we could have never dreamed of happening.
So today is a day of thanks….
To our families - who have put up with our absence and yet provided unconditional love and support.
To our staff - some of which have been with us since the beginning. You could all work anywhere else, but you chose to be with us. We wouldn’t be anywhere without your loyalty and hard work.
To our customers - From our PokiTime days to now, you’ve continued to support us. You’re a daily reminder of why we do this. You keep us motivated to constantly do better.
--Tuna Kahuna Team
Virtual Kitchen Co. announces its public launch and partnership with Poki Time
Ever since Poki Time announced that we were closing our Poki Time location to convert into 100% delivery hubs, many of our customers were saddened & confused by the news. But we’re here to tell you, we’re here to STAY! Virtual kitchens are shaking up the restaurant industry and we’re thrilled to be a the forefront of it.
For the full story on WHY we converted to 100% delivery, check out our latest feature by Restaurant Hospitality as well as the exciting news of the public launch of our partners Virtual Kitchen Co. as seen in Venture Beat, Bloomberg News, and Business Insider.
Stay tuned for more details later on!
PokiTime converting to Cloud Kitchen and Tuna Kahuna
Four years ago, we had a dream to open the first Poke restaurant in San Francisco. We were adventurous souls wanting to pioneer a new type of cuisine in the City by the Bay. So we invested our time and money together and opened PokiTime on Irving Street, followed shortly by PokiTime on Lombard Street.
Fast forward to today, we’ve come across an opportunity to again be pioneers in our industry. A lot has changed since we first opened PokiTime - one in particular is our customer’s preference for delivery vs dining in. We totally get it. The world is moving fast. And some days, there’s simply not enough time to go to a restaurant and get your poke fix. So to embrace these changes, we’ve decided to make significant changes of our own. Beginning October 30th, 2019 we will begin converting all our PokiTime locations to 100% delivery hubs, meaning there will be no options for dining in. This will be the first step in growing multiple delivery hubs up and down the entire bay area. We’ll also be launching new recipes in new delivery boxes allowing our customers to enjoy their poke in fun and interactive ways.
For those of you who still want to enjoy a dine in experience - don’t worry, we got you covered. We’ve recently opened Tuna Kahuna located in 1117 Burlingame Ave, Burlingame, CA - www.tunakahuna.co which features a new menu, carefully paired with a selection of beer, wine, and sake, with a chill and relaxing environment to hang out with friends and family. So stay tuned by following us on Instagram and Facebook and look for us on all your favorite delivery platforms like Uber Eats, Caviar, Doordash and more!
Follow along at @Tuna.Kahuna on Instagram for more info, news, and updates!
More details to come shortly so follow us as we embark on this new journey!
Will this Poke thing last?
When three years ago we opened PokiTime, it was a shot in the dark to introduce a new cuisine and concept to the SF Bay Area. With our early success, some folks called us smart and opportunistic while others called us lucky. Regardless, one question topped everyone’s mind: was this “poke thing” going to last? Or would it fade away into the saturated oblivion that is the restaurant scene, joining the likes of countless boba tea, burger, and hot pot joints?
For the sake of perseverance, or perhaps sheer survival, the question we asked ourselves was “what are we going to do to differentiate ourselves?” And to answer that question we’d go down the rabbit hole of asking other questions like: “what do our customers really want?” Granted these are questions typically reserved for tech companies trying to innovate and spit out the next minimum viable product (or other dorky stuff like that). But heck, why shouldn’t a restaurant ask itself the same thing? Maybe the lack of such curiously can help explain the depressing success rate of most restaurants.
So we looked ourselves in the mirror, talked to our customers, and realized they wanted something more… something different even. Based on those insights, four months ago we opened Tuna Kahuna — a spinoff of PokiTime. It features a unique menu with dishes consisting of yuzu white truffle poke, cured egg yolks, umami flavored sushi rice, seared salmon belly, tuna shiso wasabi poke, and more. All carefully paired with an assortment of beer, wine and sake. And this time we did more than just put our name on the wall: we built a place people would want to hang out. It cost us an arm and a leg but it’s definitely date night worthy — come check it out!
Fast forward four months and we’re thrilled with the results. We have a busy store, stellar reviews, and satisfied customers every day. More than half of our customers are trying our new signature menus, motivating us to hit the lab and experiment with the next great idea.
The truth of the matter is, nothing lasts forever. But we’ve sampled the innovation drug and we’re addicted to the high. So follow us as we embark on this journey. We’ll be talking about new menu item ideas, life behind the restaurant scene, new opportunities, new partnerships, and other random stuff we find interesting.
BTW, I’m Doug, I’m an entrepreneur, more specifically a restaurant owner. I cook, I drink, I swear occasionally, and I believe in the relentless pursuit of excellence in just about everything I do. Now, I’m trying my hand at writing, which is another story, for another blog, another time. Stay tuned…