For business owner Vanessa Pascua, taking over Matsumoto’s Okazuya last year was a full-circle moment. She heard the okazuya was for sale, but didn’t seriously contemplate buying it at first.
“I was still pregnant with my son (when I found out it was for sale),” she says. “I worked for Todd (Matsumoto, the owner of Matsumoto’s Okazuya) when I was 15; it was actually my first job.
“I joked with Jay (my business partner), ‘It would be crazy if we took it over,’” she remembers.
The okazuya stayed on Pascua’s mind, and she ended up reaching out to Matsumoto about the space.
“I texted him, ‘Do you remember me, I used to work for you,’ and he was like, ‘Yes, Vanessa, how could I forget you?’” she chuckles. “I told him that I was interested in buying. We bought the business, but we didn’t buy the property. If we hadn’t taken over, he would have closed by December 2025, and that would have been it.”
Pascua and Jay Palma officially took over the business last August. Matsumoto’s Okazuya opened in 2005, so the duo took over during its 20th anniversary.
“The day we took over, we did free chow fun with every purchase,” Pascua says. “It didn’t matter if you just bought a drink; it was one free order of chow fun per person. We want to do that every year, in honor of us taking over.”
On Aug. 1 — the business’s one-year anniversary under Pascua and Palma’s ownership — customers can enjoy a free chow fun order with purchase. The business is now called Matsumoto’s Okazuya by JV Kitchen — for Jay and Vanessa — but its menu is mostly the same, according to Pascua.
Customers can choose from an assortment of okazu items — ranging from chow mein ($3.63) and fried chicken ($3.63) to fish patty ($3.12), kimchi sausage ($2.86) and croquettes ($2.08) — or choose from pre-set bentos.
When it comes to the okazu offerings, Pascua recommends the vegetable tempura, kimchi sausage, garlic chicken and chow fun noodles.
“Our kimchi sausage is good; I don’t think a lot of other places have that,” she says.
She also encourages customers to keep an eye out for featured specials.
“Jay is really good at cooking,” she says. “Even prior to buying the restaurant, he’s always made his own concoctions; that’s where the specials come from. Sometimes he features Filipino dishes and fish items like butteryaki and furikake ‘ahi katsu.”
While the biz often sells out of its okazu items by noon, they do their best to accommodate customers, Pascua says.
“If you give us a call, we’ll put the food off to the side,” she says. “If someone wants to pre-order, we place it (their food) on the side and put it in heaters.”
The okazuya’s Matsumoto ($15.52), Tyler ($14.49) and Taylor ($15.52) bentos are still on the menu, according to Pascua; the latter two are named after Matsumoto’s kids. Newer additions include the JV bento ($14.49) — which includes white rice with furikake, JV garlic chicken, hoki, tofu nuggets, teriyaki hamburger and takuan — and the fish bento ($16.10). The latter features chow mein and white rice with miso butterfish, teriyaki beef, hoki, a fried oyster and a tofu nugget.
“We just came out with the JV bento,” Pascua says. “We were brainstorming what we wanted in the bento; I like teri hamburgers and smashburgers, so we did a hamburger patty and teri sauce. I love the garlic chicken; not a lot of people get it because they don’t know how good it is.
“The prices on our menus are all card prices; it’s cheaper if you pay cash,” she adds.
The biz also features daily plates — which are more plate lunch-style — and include two scoops of white rice and one scoop of potato mac salad. The barbecue mix ($17.60) — barbecue chicken, teriyaki beef and kalbi — JV garlic chicken ($15.52 regular, $13.47 mini) and kalbi ($17.60 regular, $15.86 mini) plates are the most popular options, according to Pascua.
“We introduced the barbecue mix, kalbi and garlic chicken (plates) about two months ago,” she says. “Those really hit it off, I think, because of the portions. He (Jay) doesn’t skimp on the portions.”
In June, the okazuya closed briefly for renovations. New cabinets were added and the interior layout was altered, according to Pascua.
“It’s (the interior) shaped as an L-shape now, so customers can face us directly,” she says. “Previously, there was no ‘hand off/pay station,’ so we were maneuvering around the old display case and it was awkward. We also take card now as well.”
The biz is open for catering any day of the week, according to Pascua, who says that delivery is available.
“We get a lot of inquiries regarding catering; we do a live sushi bar and bento and pan catering,” she says. “We deliver to any celebration of life/mortuaries for free as well.”
CONTACT
Matsumoto’s Okazuya by JV Kitchen
1323 Gulick Ave., Honolulu
808-848-7464
Instagram: @matsumotosokazuya
Open 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, 5 a.m. to noon on Saturdays
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
