David and Elyse Hopps opened their pop-up Japanese restaurant, Izakaya Gama, in Point Arena last September with plans of staying open for one month. Seven months later, they’re still running their ramen and sushi operation out of 250 Main Street, with an expanded menu and growing-customer base. And soon, they’ll be opening a permanent location, just down the road at 15o Main Street.
David Hopps, former sous chef at Mendocino’s Michelin-starred Harbor House, trained in traditional Japanese cuisine at Salt Lake City’s Naked Fish Bistro before heading west to San Francisco and landing a job at Saison. Now, with two Michelin-starred restaurants under his belt, and strong relationships with some of the Bay Area’s best farmers and fishermen, David and his wife Elyse — who was Harbor House’s opening pastry chef — are ready to set up shop permanently in Point Arena.
The new space is small, but will feature a bar made from a single cypress tree with a live edge, which will seat ten, and cypress tables that will seat twenty. Hopps will equip the kitchen with a Japanese grill and a traditional tempura pot, and will offer a range of sake, beer, ramen, and authentic izakaya (Japanese bar) dishes using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.
“We’ll be using a hodge-podge of Japanese cooking techniques,” said Hopps, who is also Gama’s head chef. “And we’ll use all the same quality ingredients as with fine dining, but we want to make it a casual, approachable place to eat.”
While the pop-up is currently operating with odd hours — open a few days a week until they’ve sold out, which is all but a guarantee — Point Arena locals and tourists alike can expect to grab a (cypress) table at 150 Main Street by September.
