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Photo: \u00a9Sammy Faze Photography<\/p><\/div>\n
As mixologist, creative director, and co-founder of Chicago\u2019s nationally-acclaimed <\/span>Kumiko<\/span><\/a> bar, Julia Momos\u00e9 connects Japan and the US through creative flavors in food and drink. Momos\u00e9\u2019s expertise blossomed over years of bartending, bar consulting, and developing cocktails for a variety of restaurant menus from New York, to Baltimore, and finally, to Chicago.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2018, with great passion for her Japanese culture and deep experience in mixology, hospitality and fine dining, Julia Momos\u00e9 founded <\/span>Kumiko<\/span><\/a>, a Japanese dining bar that reflects Japanese flavor and tradition in each cocktail in a sophisticated way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe warmth and grace in my mother\u2019s hospitality stuck with me\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n Born to a Japanese-American father and American mother, Julia Momos\u00e9 grew up in Nara, Japan, where her interest in the service industry started young. As a child, Momos\u00e9 fell in love with her mother\u2019s graceful hospitality when guests would visit their home. In her teens, Momos\u00e9 began building experience in the hospitality industry by working part-time in small restaurants and caf\u00e9s. After high school, she left Japan for college in Ithaca, New York.<\/span><\/p>\n Recounting a visit home to Japan during that time, Momos\u00e9 described the inspirational moment that birthed her passion for the art of Japanese bartending. On her first-ever bar visit, inside an elegant, vintage-style piano bar in Kyoto\u2019s historic district of Gion, she ordered a gin martini and watched the bartender\u2019s every move.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEveryone in the bar was dressed so elegantly and looked so proper\u2014the bartender wore a white jacket and vest, and hand-chipped ice spheres for every drink\u201d<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Momos\u00e9 found herself in awe of his smooth, meticulous craftsmanship, preparing each guest\u2019s drink with beautifully hand-chipped spheres of ice. \u201cIt was so intoxicating just to watch. It was such a gorgeous experience that I thought to myself that one day I want to be able to give back and provide that experience for other people,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Following that life-changing moment, Momos\u00e9 started bartending and never stopped.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA lot of my regulars were chefs and they would tell me: \u2018You have to go to Chicago! You need to be in a bigger city, to do more!\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n When Momos\u00e9 returned to the U.S. with a passionate determination to gain experience behind the bar, she took on the world of beverages full-time with positions as a cocktail waitress, a bar-back\u2014and finally as a bartender for a bar that initially would not even allow women to bartend.<\/span><\/p>\n By 2012, Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span>\u2019s career led her to Baltimore. Bartending for high-end restaurants there allowed her extraordinary expertise in mixology to flourish. She began crafting original cocktails for their menu and developing entire bar programs from scratch.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0After repeatedly hearing about the outstanding food and cocktail scene of Chicago from regular customers in the service industry, Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> chose Chicago as her next step.<\/span> In 2013, she made the move and instantly fell in love with the city.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKumiko means craft\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n When her career led her to Chicago, Momos\u00e9\u2019s vision to open her own bar came to life, starting with the name, \u201c<\/span>Kumiko<\/span><\/a>,<\/span>\u201d which comes from a Japanese woodworkingart technique. This traditional technique called \u201cKumiko\u201d is applied to create various designs and by expertly cutting and fitting together pieces of wood. These patterns are formed without the use of any nails or hardware and rely on the expertise and precision of the craftspeople. Momos\u00e9 chose to name her bar after this art form as an homage to the process and to invite an exploration into the Japanese way of hospitality and bartending.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: \u00a9Sammy Faze Photography<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI wanted a bar that would highlight the beauty and intimate craftsmanship within the art of Japanese bartending. Kumiko is a place where people can come together to experience a piece of my home and what brings me joy,\u201d Momos\u00e9 explained.<\/span><\/p>\n In the process of opening Kumiko, Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> faced many challenges: construction, designing of the venue, expenses, the task of hiring staff, getting the word out and, ultimately, opening the bar in the middle of Chicago winter! Despite these challenges, Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> was encouraged and inspired by the incredible support of her husband, parents, friends, partners, and investors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n On December 31, 2018, Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> opened Kumiko in the West Loop neighborhood, welcoming visitors into an elegantly captivating experience of Japanese cocktails and dining. She crafts each Kumiko cocktail with the graceful touch of traditional Japanese mixology, blending Japanese beverages like sh\u014dch\u016b, sak\u00e9, hojicha and others to create refreshing flavors, whether in traditional cocktails or \u201cspiritfrees\u201d (non-alcoholic).<\/span><\/p>\n Sharing Japanese Culture<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cServing people food and drink creates a moment of togetherness and natural sharing of culture,\u201d Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> says. \u201cWhen I see customers come into the bar alone, I watch them find connections with the person next to them as they both drink sake or sh\u014dch\u016b for the first time. I love witnessing the connections and friendships that Kumiko is able to create.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: \u00a9Sammy Faze Photography<\/p><\/div>\n Less than a year after its opening, the beautifully artistic experience of Japanese culture in Kumiko gained popularity and praise nationwide.\u00a0 In 2019, Time Magazine named Kumiko among its top-100 list of \u201c<\/span>The World\u2019s Greatest Places<\/span><\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Thriving through the challenges brought by the Covid pandemic, Momos<\/span>\u00e9 and Kumiko <\/span>continue to share the beauty of Japanese culture with Chicagoans and visitors from beyond the city.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In addition to connecting Japan and the U.S. through the art of Kumiko, Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> also sheds light on the craft and technique of Japanese mixology and bartending with her new book, \u201c<\/span>The Way of the Cocktail<\/span><\/a>,\u201d scheduled for publication on Oct. 12, 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t give up\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n When offering\u00a0 her thoughts on achieving one\u2019s career goals, Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> stresses the importance of speaking one\u2019s vision and sharing it with supportive people.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cManifest your dreams. Speak them outloud. Put them out there into the world. Communicate your feelings and needs with your support system so that you can continue to manifest your dreams with joy,\u201d Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> counseled. \u201cHonor that process to achieving your goals– don’t rush to get there, but embrace each moment and interaction that you have created with others. When you reach your goal, you will have a beautiful story to look back on and carry on to your next goal.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo: \u00a9Sammy Faze Photography<\/p><\/div>\n \u00a0\u201cI love Japan so much. Japan is my home,\u201d Momos<\/span>\u00e9<\/span> concludes. \u201cSharing the joy and love for a place that is home to me while I am living somewhere else is an important part of my creative process and how I stay connected to my roots.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/activ8.ckmsol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/kumiko-bar-aug5-2021-300x200.jpg\")
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