Azay is Leading The Way

Philip Hirose, co-owner of Azay — a Japanese fusion restaurant in Little Tokyo, which he runs with his mother Jo Ann and father, Akira — faced not just the challenge of opening a new restaurant, but also coping with pandemic shutdowns just six months after opening.
“Lunch was our busiest time due to the city government workers,” he explained. “Now with them not in their offices — it was a huge blow.”
Azay opened on Sept. 14, 2019 and is located at 226 E. First St (near San Pedro Street) in Little Tokyo. It took Hirose and his mother a year of hard ...