About Us

Yoshi's began in 1973 as a small, North Berkeley sushi bar owned by a trio of struggling students with plenty of dreams. Its founder and namesake, Yoshie Akiba, orphaned during World War II, came to the U.S. to study fine arts, dance and dance therapy. She opened Yoshi's Japanese Restaurant with her two best friends Kaz Kajimura, a journalist and carpenter, and Hiroyuki Hori, a painter and Japanese cook. The original North-Berkeley, 25-seat restaurant quickly became successful and by 1977 the three partners moved to a larger space on Claremont Avenue in Oakland and began introducing live music in their restaurant. Over the next 20 years, Yoshi's built itself into one of the world's most respected jazz venues and won a reputation as the Bay Area's premier location for people who were looking for great food and the best jazz. Yoshi's has hosted legendary jazz greats such as Betty Carter, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Diana Krall, Branford Marsalis, McCoy Tyner, Harry Connick Jr. and Oscar Peterson among hundreds of others.

Yoshi's Oakland at Jack London Square
In 1997, Yoshi's was invited by the Port of Oakland to relocate to Jack London Square as part of a plan to revitalize the area. Together with Morimoto Architects, Yoshi's built an award-winning 330-seat jazz club with a state-of-the-art sound system and design. Occupying 17,000 square feet in the heart of Jack London Square, the club is in it's tenth year in that location which has become one of the East Bay's greatest destinations. The restaurant and lounge have a combined capacity of 220. In 1998 Peter Williams was hired as the club's artistic director. Under his leadership, the club has continued to present the finest in jazz music, as well as world music, blues, neo-soul, latin jazz and afro-cuban music. In fall of 2006, Kajimura decided that it was time to elevate the menu to the quality of the jazz by recruiting Executive Chef Shotaro 'Sho' Kamio, one of the Bay Area's top chefs to make the change. Chef Kamio (formerly of Ozumo) brought a whole new generation of modern Japanese cuisine to Yoshi's, which instantly put it on the map as a destination to dine in addition to the best place to hear great live music.

Yoshi's San Francisco at Fillmore Heritage Center (Opening September 2007)
Yoshi's San Francisco at Fillmore Heritage Center (Opening Fall 2007) Yoshi's Jazz Club & Japanese Restaurant will open its second Bay Area location in November of 2007. Located at 1300 Fillmore Street (at Eddy), the new location will be a 28,000 square-foot, two-story, state-of-the-art venue and will feature the best of local, national and international jazz artists with seating for 417 in the jazz club and nearly 371 in the restaurant and lounge. Not only will it be a great destination for live music, but it will also be a great place to dine. Executive Chef Kamio will oversee the menus at both San Francisco and Oakland Yoshi's. Chef Sho's menu in San Francisco will feature a slightly different version of his modern take on Japanese cuisine, which will surely enhance the overall Yoshi's experience, making it the only place in the City with great food and world-class jazz.

The new venue will occupy the ground floor of the Fillmore Heritage Center, a 13-story mixed-use development, which will begin a new era in the Fillmore District's history. During the musical prime of the Fillmore District in the 1940s and 1950s, the area became known as 'Harlem of the West' because it was a swinging, eclectic, and integrated neighborhood, boasting two dozen active nightclubs and music joints within its one square mile. Developed by Em Johnson Interest, Inc., this $72 million project will open its doors in Fall of 2007. In addition to Yoshi's the project also includes a 6,000-square-foot Jazz Heritage Center, a French-Soul food restaurant Blue Mirror, 80 residential condominiums, and public & private parking facility.