Japanese restaurant celebrates 50 successful years in Atlanta

ATLANTA - Remember when we spent a morning at Nakato Japanese Restaurant back in 2017, celebrating the establishment’s 45th anniversary? We sure do! And now that owner Sachi Nakato Takahara and her team are celebrating the restaurant’s 50th anniversary, we knew we needed to return to help them mark the delicious milestone.

Nakato Japanese Restaurant first opened in 1972, when Tetsuko Nakato decided to share an authentic taste of Japan here in Atlanta. When she retired, her daughter and son-in-law took over the restaurant. And now, Tetsuko’s granddaughter is the one keeping the legacy alive, which means three generations of Nakato women have run the family business. We asked Sachi Nakato Takahara about that legacy during our visit back in 2017 (which you can watch here).

"We take pride in that," she said. "And I’m so blessed and thankful for what the generations before me have put in, to allow us to be in this stage right now." 

Nakato’s culinary team says it’s really been focused on its sushi program in recent years, something that’s apparently paid off: we’re told sushi sales have tripled since the start of the pandemic. The team says its fish is flown in from Japan several times per week, allowing for the freshest selection possible.

Nakato Atlanta is located at 1776 Cheshire Bridge Road Northeast, and regular hours are 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily. For more information on the restaurant and to check out the menu, click here. And click the video player in this article to check out our morning celebrating Nakato’s golden anniversary!