Today we’d like to introduce you to Phil Stevenson+.
Hi Phil, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
We were living in Tokyo, Japan, and planning on doing Navajo Tacos in Tokyo, when our youngest daughter, who was attending UVU, got sick. It wasn’t anything serious, but a couple of days later, my wife, Kazuyo (who is the K of K’s Kitchen), decided she wanted to do Japanese food in Provo Utah.
She was also adamant that we do NOT do Ramen or Sushi, as she wanted people to know that Japanese cuisine included other items as well. So, we sold our home in Tokyo, and used the equity from the sale, to start K’s Kitchen.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Covid was definitely a challenge, however, when the LA port issue arose, and the price of everything started climbing. I made a critical mistake in assuming that it would be a very temporary issue and maintained the pricing we had at the time. As such, we fell into the red, and were looking to have a bad year, but we increased prices in September and were able to end the year with net profit of $95. (Not a stellar moment as an owner…
So, trying to keep pricing at a reasonable amount is one struggle we deal with.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I worked in Japan for roughly 35 years, mostly in Finance and IT. (However, I did help open up Nu Skin, in Japan, and enjoyed working there for 7 years.
However, the key for K’s Kitchen, is my wife Kazuyo, who fed a family of 11 for many years, and always wanted to have her own restaurant, as she loves cooking for people!
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
We have been truly lucky with a wonderful, and supportive clientele!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ksjapanesekitchen.com
- Instagram: @kskitchen_provo
- Facebook: K’s Kitchen
