This story begins in New York City a little over five years ago. A young man within the broadcasting industry (including a stint with Anthony Bourdain while in Puerto Rico) was visiting a new wine bar in his Long Island neighborhood. While talking to the owner he found out she was from Portland. During their conversation, he light-heartedly threw out the comment, “Well maybe I’ll have to go open a wine shop in your old neighborhood someday.” He had some experience in the Pacific NW while attending the University of Washington; and not long after that encounter he decided he needed a new direction in his life, heading west towards the ocean and rain. He had formed an upbeat impression of Portland while in the Pacific NW and chose the city to plant his new roots. While having little experience in the wine business, he decided to jump in with both feet and prove his earlier prediction true. He drove up and down just about every street in Portland looking for a spot that “spoke to him”. Finally he found a location within an area bounded by an upscale restaurant and a coffee shop that felt right to him; and—thanks to his convincing demeanor and supportive landlord—opened a small wine tasting space in the back end of a pet shop facing an alley! While not the perfect location he made a go of it; during the early years he noticed many of his customers brought their own crackers and snacks to enjoy with the wine.
When a specialty gift shop next door went out of business he saw it as an opportunity to expand and offer food along with broader wine selections.
By now many of you recognize the protagonist of this tale is Andy Diaz, owner of Blackbird Wine shop; however, there is more to this story. On an occasion not too long ago, Andy had a minor epiphany and idly verbalized it to no one in particular: “I think I’d like to open a sushi place”. His Blackbird evening manager, Devon, was within ear shot and spoke up, “I’d love to manage that place.” And so the idea gained momentum. The original coffee shop that had helped draw Andy to Fremont had just closed so he jumped at the opportunity to secure the space for his sushi dream. While trying to build a team to run the new endeavor, he was in Zilla, a restaurant he had frequented often. Fortuitously, in walked Yuki Yamada. Yuki had worked at Zilla previously but was just returning to Portland after being away for a period of time. Besides his local experience as a sushi chef, Yuki had a family history of relatives working in the business. Andy offered Yuki the chef position, and so the partnership in Daruma Sushi began. The name Daruma comes from the traditional Japanese daruma doll, a symbol of perseverance and good luck. And, as Andy added, “the eyes of the doll remind you to stay focused on what’s important” — a Daruma doll sitting on the counter at Blackbird does just that.
And now, taking a cue from long-time radio commentator Paul Harvey, “Now you know… the rest of the story”.