I just learned what onigiri is, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.

At first glance, it reminded me of the emoji of a triangular-shaped ball of rice wrapped in a black square of nori.

I ate the rice ball filled with sweet jam-like paste for breakfast. It was easy to hold, something I could have brought with me on the go. It was sweet, healthy and satiating. And it left me wanting more.

The adzuki red bean onigiri ($6) is just one of the ready-made Japanese products from Kita Café, available at Sebastian’s Seafood Market, Wild Petals Provisions, Bendite Market and Turtle Island Coffee Shop.

“People need to know that there’s more to Japanese food than just sushi and ramen,” said James Gage, owner and operator of Kita Café, a wholesale and catering business offering convenient Japanese to-go food.

The business marries Gage’s two loves: food and Japanese culture.

Japanese milk bread made from scratch

As I checked out at Sebastian’s Market, the cashier said it was difficult to keep Kita Café products in stock. The onigiri, sandwiches and yakisoba noodles ($8) were flying off the shelves, she said.

Gage prepares a chicken katsu sandwich ($12), pork tonkatsu sandwich ($10) and a fruit and cream sandwich ($12) with Japanese milk bread made from scratch. He bakes the bread weekly in what he describes as an arduous process.

But what the bread lacks in uniformity, it makes up for in character.

“You’re going to find different-sized pieces of bread sometimes and that’s just me and my shaky hands,” Gage said.

A husky named Kita

All of Kita Café’s products are pre-made, nothing is made-to-order.

“We do one type of sandwich. There are no modifications. If you like it, it’s there. That’s also why it’s open-face, sort of a book. You can tell what’s in there for the most part,” Gage said.

Since Gage launched the business a year ago, word has mostly spread by mouth. He’s only recently started leveraging Instagram and Facebook, he said.

The name of the business is a tribute to Kita, Gage’s family dog who died last year. The husky had two different-colored eyes, as is reflected in the company’s logo designed by Danielle Burns, owner of Funky Fauna Artisan Ales.

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‘A dollar and a dream’

Kita Café is not Gage’s first venture in the food industry. He ran a food truck named A&J’s Fish n’ Chips in Bend from 2019 until the onset of the pandemic.

“I fell in love with the food truck community and the food industry in general here in Bend. That’s my whole life. I’ve done it for the past decade now and I’ve cooked at a lot of locally owned restaurants, too,” Gage said.

He dreams of making Kita Café a household name.

“I don’t think wholesale is the end game. It just ended up being easy for me as a person with a dollar and a dream,” he said.

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Details

What: Kita Café

Location: Products available at Sebastian’s Seafood Market, Wild Petals Provisions, Bendite Market and Turtle Island Coffee Shop

Contact: @kitacafeco on Instagram, Kita Café on Facebook and kitacafebend@gmail.com

Price Range $6-$12

“I don’t think wholesale is the end game. It just ended up being easy for me as a person with a dollar and a dream.”