A new Japanese-fusion restaurant, Kisser, will open in late February at 747 Douglas Ave, inside of the Highland Yards storefront. This is a delayed date from the original opening announcement, which was slated for January.
According to the Jan. 12 Nashville Beer Board meeting, the restaurant is still pending approval to sell alcohol on their menu given missing documents. However, the restaurant is on track to open soon. Kisser is currently hiring for chefs and kitchen staff according to a post on their Instagram account from Jan. 14.
The restaurant’s founders are no strangers to the industry.
“Kisser is a concept developed by the husband and wife team Brian Lea and Leina Horii. It is an homage to the Japanese kissaten,” stated on the Kisser website. Lea and Horii both boast extensive chef backgrounds, with local favorites such as the Catbird Seat and Bastion on their resumes.
The menu for Kisser will offer Japanese comfort food with an emphasis on smoking and grilling. Items such as bento boxes, curry bowls, chicken katsu milk bread sandwiches, Tantan ramen, and Onigiri Japanese rice balls will rotate the menu.
Kisser has been operating as a pop-up since 2021. This will be their first brick-and-mortar location.
