My Small Business Soft Spot
n°15 My “why” + a letter to my entrepreneurial friends + call for recommendations
My mother wasn’t trained as a chef, nor had she ever run a business.
She had a nursing degree and was working in a hospital in Japan when she met my dad. They immigrated to California and raised their three daughters. She taught children of Japanese immigrants to speak English out of our living room. She launched a books-on-tape program at our elementary school library. When I was 10 years old, she started to take part-time waitressing jobs to add to the household income. When I was 11 years old, my mom decided to take ownership of a small homestyle Japanese restaurant in town. To me, it felt as though she went from being a homemaker to a solo restaurant owner / chef / operator overnight.
Kamon was a truly family operation. Every other Sunday, we emptied out the station wagon and went to Costco to fill it up. We stored liters of sodas and bottles of beer in our garage. After school, one of us would ride our bikes downtown. We got to work. We prepped mise en place, turned teriyaki skewers on the grill, and served and washed (and sometimes broke) dishes. At the end of every shift, we cleaned the kitchen top to bottom.
It was tough for our family to adjust to the daily stress of running a restaurant. If I’m honest, I don’t think we ever completely healed from it. But it was the toughest on my mom. I watched her hands work to the point where her fingerprints wore over. She developed carpal tunnel from lifting the fryer. Kamon was open for lunch and dinner 6 days a week. She also catered boxed lunches to the university and ran a booth at the weekly farmer’s market. She also started selling her famous “drinkable” salad dressing at local grocery stores. After dinner service, she would clean the kitchen and set up to fill, shrink wrap, label and pack dozens of bottles. Then, she would clean the kitchen for the second time before coming home around midnight.
My mother did what she had to do. She purposefully modeled to her daughters how to work hard. Despite hardships, she found joy and meaning in her work. Some customers were transplants from Japan, like her. Their eyes would glaze over as they ate, time traveling back to their homeland. 18 years later, loyal customers still send messages to tell us that their mouths water when they remember Kamon’s salad dressing. They ask for the recipe. I tell them it’s a family secret, but it’s not really a secret.
Hitomi Shimono Phan taught me that in everything we make and do, the most important ingredient is love. That’s the taste that people will remember.
That’s what I remember, anyway.
A letter to my entrepreneur friends
I see and admire you.
You have a vision and you’re willing to take on great risks to make it a reality. I’ve been on the people and operations side of many small businesses and startups; I know how challenging it can be. To be responsible for so much all at once. To feel the pressure to do the right thing at all times. To hold true to your values and ethics, while also watching your P&L statements like a hawk. To believe in your vision while simultaneously losing sight of what’s important. To duck and dodge external circumstances hurtling towards your face. It’s a lot.
I will always be in your corner, celebrating you and lifting you up. Reach out whenever you need.
Chin up. You’re incredible. I love you.
– Milan
What are your favorite homegrown businesses?
I’m co-creating a gifting guide for you! I decided to do it on a bit of a whim, but I am PUMPED to pull together and showcase some of the small businesses that I personally endorse. I’m also curating recommendations from my network [of super cool and tasteful friends, if I do say so myself]. And that includes you!
To contribute to this guide, reply to this email (or click the button below). Tell me the name of the business, the reasons why you love them, and be sure to include how we can find them online.
You can recommend any type of small business; it doesn’t have to center around giftable goods. I want to hear from all different perspectives. I want to know the stories of family-run operations, mom-and-pop corner ships, your best friend’s venture, and your neighbor’s side hustle.
As always, if you know someone who might resonate with this newsletter, please do forward and share.
– Milan
what a beautiful tribute to your mom and all small business owners, Milan <3 also, the "what's your favorite small business" button leads to a "private" page that i can't access... help!
I wish I could share a meal with you at Kamon! Sounds like it would be an epic meal ❤️