Local Japanese grocery store Wagaya Groceries will be opening its fourth location in a 1,045-square-foot space at Inman Quarter in summer 2027, according to a release.
Restaurateur Takashi Otsuka of MGK Hospitality is behind the concept. He launched the grocery store concept in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and now has existing locations on the Westside and in Sandy Springs. MGK Hospitality also operates restaurants, including Wagaya and Nagomiya.
Wagaya Groceries offers Japanese and other East Asian products, including snacks, ingredients, dry instant foods, frozen foods, and ready-to-go hot meals such as onigiri, rice bowls, and sashimi.
Otsuka is focusing on expanding the grocery concept rather than the restaurants because he sees it as more viable for people in current economic conditions where eating out becomes expensive.
“Restaurants are getting really expensive,” Otsuka told What Now Atlanta. “We’re hoping to provide high-quality Japanese food, which we have grab-and-go, and the regular Japanese ingredients. So it is Japanese food, but at a better price, and in a convenient form.”
Otsuka hopes to continue to expand the concept across the Atlanta area. Inman Quarter is an intentional step for their growth.
“Our concept is really a neighborhood-emphasized concept,” Otsuka said. “We have so many regulars. And when it comes to Inman Park, I can see the community is tight.”
Next summer, Inman Quarter will also welcome New York City-based Chinese restaurant Blue Willow.
