Onigilly: More than just sushi

Founderology Forum

Onigilly has seven restaurants in the San Francisco Bay area.

Photo: Onigilly

October 29, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

Editor’s note: This is part 5 in a series featuring founders of restaurant concepts answering five questions about building their companies. Click here to read the other installments.

Onigilly started in San Francisco in 2008. Founder and CEO Koji Kanemastu began by selling onigiri in a cafe to test the concept. He then set up a tent at farmers’ markets and at local events.

Afterward, the brand joined La Cocina, a nonprofit food incubator, which supported Onigilly across finance, operations and marketing. Kanemastu acquired a food cart, took the brand around the city and gathered extensive customer feedback before opening his first brick-and-mortar location in downtown San Francisco in 2012.

Photo: Onigilly

Today, Onigilly has seven Bay Area locations.

Onigiri is a 2,000‑year‑old Japanese staple — portable, craveable and balanced, Kanemastu.

“We make each onigiri to order with nutrient‑dense ingredients (for example, half‑milled rice, which keeps much of brown rice’s nutrition with the texture of white), and we offer many gluten‑free and vegan options. It’s not sushi — it’s everyday Japanese comfort food for on‑the‑go,” Kanemastu said.

This is the story of Onigilly told through five key moments from its founder’s journey.

1. What is one thing you wish you had known before you began your founder journey?

Bringing a new food culture to a market takes time. When I started Onigilly in 2008, I expected to scale quickly — onigiri is as common in Japan as sandwiches are in the U.S. I learned that changing eating habits requires education, patience and persistence. Years later, we’re winning local fans but it took far longer than I first imagined.

2. What has been the best decision you have made to date that accelerated the growth of your business?

Designing the business to be scalable. I have a very unique background. I worked for a restaurant for five years during college and after graduating, I worked for tech startups, including IT system development. So naturally, I consider the scalability of the business from my startup mindset, logistics from my systems mindset and heart from my food mindset. First, I learned from Subway’s discipline regarding consistency to replicate quality regardless of location. We also adopted Japanese onigiri manufacturing technology — automation and co-packing — so we don’t rely on skilled chefs or on-site cooking. Our no-cook workflow lowers training time and staffing requirements, improves throughput and strengthens unit economics while still delivering a unique, satisfying guest experience.

3. What is your growth plan?

Densify northern California and expand across Southern California (starting with Los Angeles and San Diego) to 20 locations by 2026. In the first phase, we’ll focus on class‑A, high‑traffic shopping centers, downtowns and airports in major metros, using small‑footprint kiosks (200–500 square feet) and efficient inline formats, supported by robust digital ordering, catering and semi‑automated operations — with the long‑term goal of scaling Onigilly nationwide to about 500 locations.

Photo: Onigilly

4. What’s one piece of advice you would give a founder who is trying to build a business to break through?

Focus on unit economics. Make one location highly profitable, and monitor profitability carefully. Without clear numbers, it’s hard to persuade partners — or yourself. In the process of improving the numbers, you’ll learn what truly scales.

5. What is one menu item every customer must try on your menu?

Start with our most popular Onigilly: Spam and Ponzu Poke Salmon. I like to order a set — pick two to three Onigilly plus two to three sides — for a complete meal with variety in flavors and textures. The Bento Set is also a great choice with a curated selection of sides.

Want to participate in the Founders: Take 5? Send email to geline@kwoodpartners.com.

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

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Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
 
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living. 

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