Our History
Two sisters from Japan had a dream of serving authentic Japanese comfort food to the people of America.
That dream became a reality in Fall of 1972 when the sisters, Junko and Yuriko opened Suehiro Café.
Unfortunately, without any business or restaurant experience, they soon found themselves completely overwhelmed by the experience. For a short while, they even survived on the goodness of some food vendors that provided them with over-ripe fruits to eat just so they could save the money to pay their employees.
Doing One's Best 頑張る
Photographs: Junko standing in the original 2nd Street location. Suehiro store front with yellow sign. Modern day booth inside Suehiro Cafe.
The path they chose was not what they had expected and much harder than they had imagined. But they never gave up and little by little, things started to get a little easier.
Strangers became customers and customers became “regulars”, friends brought other friends, parents brought in their children and soon the restaurant became a common go-to-place for people in Little Tokyo.
2020 marks our 48th year, making us one of the oldest restaurants in Little Tokyo and we are so very proud to say that we have served generations of our customers.
We have served couples on their dates that became married and had children and those children becoming adults and are now bringing in their own children.
A New Generation Running Suehiro
Junko’s son Kenji has been running the family business since Junko’s retirement in 2001. He wants to continue what his mother and aunt had started and to remember and to appreciate all the sacrifices that were made by them that have made Suehiro Café into what it is today.
