The KYU Team is Helping Bring Japanese Eatery Buya Izakaya + Yakitori to Wynwood

Self described Japanese “soul food” eatery and bar Buya Izakaya + Yakitori is heading to Wynwood next month. The restaurant, which has two location in St. Petersburg and Berlin, Germany, was founded by Michael Sponaugle, who teamed up with industry vet Jeff Grosser, along with KYU’s Michael Lewis and Steven Haigh, to bring the eatery to Miami in the former Laid Fresh space.

The restaurant is inspired by traditional Japanese Izakayas — aka casual Japanese eateries and sake shops found throughout the country — and will feature dishes like yakitori and wagyu kushiyaki grilled over binchotan charcoal, a duck dumpling hotpot, and Tokyo street corn, all prepared in an exhibition style kitchen.

In the back of the space will be Buya’s hidden cocktail bar, which takes inspiration from Tokyo’s Golden Gai, a collection of over 200 micro-bars occupying the alleyways of Shinjuku. The ceiling will be decorated with hundreds of suspended chopsticks floating over the bar stools that look out over the dining room. The seats at the bar will be first come, first serve.

Buya Izakaya + Yakitori is slated to open in July and will be located at 250 NW 24th Street. When it debuts it will be open for lunch and dinner from noon to 11 p.m. on weekdays and late night on the weekends.