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Prepare yourself for a culinary experience like no other with the debut of Ojai Burger, a dreamlike fusion of Japanese cuisine and core American casual dining.
The restaurant is based off of Yume Japanese Burger Cafe, a popular Wagyu burger restaurant based in Ojai, California and founded by Takeshi Ozaki. Ozaki is a Japanese tennis coach by trade who conceptualized his passion for cooking into his first restaurant at the urging of his tennis students and friends who enjoyed the various burger creations he made at home. Despite opening during the pandemic in March of 2021, Yume, which translates to “dream” in Japanese, has thrived in the Ojai community.
Now Orange will get the opportunity to share in this burger experience, filled with a variety of menu items for all taste buds and dietary needs. From their signature Wagyu burgers to a vegetarian twist with crispy croquettes, there really is something for everyone.
The fusion restaurant will sit on Orange Plaza’s main street at 238 W Chapman Ave #100, one block from the plaza’s central pedestrian hub. The 1000 square foot counter-service concept will offer an intimate indoor dining space and shared patio space with neighboring Wahoo’s Fish Tacos.
“The idea to create Ojai Burger was inspired during a visit my partners and I made to Ojai,” said Tong. “We weren’t familiar with the area so we turned to Yelp for options and stumbled upon a 5-star burger concept, which is pretty rare to see. Right away, we fell in love with Yume Japanese Burger Cafe and were incredibly impressed by Takeshi’s talent in transforming the burger – which is fairly uniform across the board – into something truly memorable for all of us with his Japanese flair.
We approached Takeshi that same day to discuss his inspiration behind Yume Burger, and that’s when we came up with the idea to take Yume’s menu and Takeshi’s vision and bring Ojai Burger to Orange County.”
Rooted in Yume Burger’s menu and preparation of Japanese-American eats, Ojai Burger’s offerings will include Wagyu Burgers featuring patties prepared in a rich and savory marinade for 24 hours served on a brioche bun. The burgers will be able to be customized to include a variety of topping options including sautéed mushrooms and onions, fried eggs, and signature sauces such as Japanese Kewpie mayo and spicy miso sauce made from scratch. Crispy and subtly sweet traditional Japanese Mochi Waffles made with rice flour will also grace the menu in flavors like matcha and ube, also known as purple yam.
“It is very important to us to authentically represent Takeshi’s dream with Ojai Burger, which is why we’re staying true to his philosophy of serving guests with only the highest quality meats at an affordable price,” said Wu. “With the 15 plus years of experience that Peter, Kasper, and I have in the restaurant industry, which includes opening 70 Pokeworks locations across the U.S., as well as Carl’s experience as a banker, investor, and restaurateur, we’re confident that we will be able to expand Takeshi’s vision into Orange County and beyond.”
Ojai Burger will be open seven days a week from 11am – 10pm Sunday through Thursday, and 11am – 11pm on Friday & Saturday. For more information or to stay in the know about the upcoming Grand Opening, follow Ojai Burger on Instagram at @Eat_Ojai_Burger or visit their website EatOjaiBurger.com.
