01
Amagasaki, Japan
His mother's kitchen.
Sam Morikizono grew up in Amagasaki, near Osaka, eating his mother's home cooking.
02
Rockford, Illinois
Nineteen, washing dishes.
He came to the United States at nineteen and washed dishes at J.M.K. Nippon, a Japanese restaurant in Rockford, Illinois. A kitchen veteran called Masa-san took him on.
03
The kitchens
Shogun. Then Matsuhisa.
He worked his way through kitchens, including Shogun in Los Angeles, and a stretch at Matsuhisa under Nobu Matsuhisa.
04
Convoy Street, 2001
A small restaurant, already called Tajima.
In 2001 he took over a small, struggling Japanese restaurant on Convoy Street. The name was already on the door.
He didn't name it. He made it his.
05
San Diego
Twenty-five years. Six rooms.
He has run it ever since. Today there are six Tajima rooms across San Diego, from the original on Convoy to Crown Point, and the crew gets named in reviews more than the food does.
06
Crown Point, 2024
The Noodle Room.
Sam spent two years building a room in Crown Point with a noodle machine brought over from Japan. It makes two noodles right now, the ramen noodle and the spinach noodle that goes into the vegan bowl. The broth is made in the same building every morning and driven to all six San Diego locations. Most ramen shops in America buy both.
The film.
One minute and twenty seconds. It starts muted and it does not start on its own, so the controls are yours.
[Quote pending interview]
Sam's words go here, verbatim, once the founder interview is recorded. Per the voice rules, no quote is written for him. This block is a deliberate launch blocker.
Better noodles weren't for sale. So we made them.
See where the bowl begins, then find your Tajima.