So this post is a little sad to write. My family originally moved to the Virginia area back when I was in college (1998 if I remember correctly). Our house was one of the first in its subdivision and honestly there wasn't too much around it. Up the road a bit was an out of business Pizza Hut. A few months after we moved in, someone bought the Pizza Hut, and to our surprise they turned it into a sushi joint. This sushi joint was called Kawata Japanese Restaurant.
Eventually I fell in love with sushi and Kawata. The food at Kawata was delicious - whether you got a bento box, udon, or just a selection of sushi & sashimi. But what really made Kawata special was the people. This was a mom & pop restaurant, there were no gimicks, no flash. It was simple and cozy. It was comfort. When people visited from out of town, I often made it a point to bring them.
The owners treated everyone like family. About ten years ago they started taking pictures of their customers and then hung all these small snapshots on their wall. It was a lot of fun combing through the pictures trying to spot yours. Sometimes they would make copies and would give them to us. I think I had 3 or 4 different pictures on the wall. It made me feel like I was a part of the restaurant.
I have to admit that within the last year and a half, I haven't been going there as often as I used to. Partly due to cutting down on my going out to eat budget and partly due to moving further away. Sometimes I would pass it on the way to a friend's house and say that I would stop by soon. Well, this week when I drove by I realized that I wouldn't get that chance. The owners have decided to retire and so Kawata is now closed. I regret not getting the chance to eat there one more time. I will miss it very much. If the owners read this post, I wish them the best in their retirement. They deserve it after decades of bringing happiness to diners of Fairfax County.
Eventually I fell in love with sushi and Kawata. The food at Kawata was delicious - whether you got a bento box, udon, or just a selection of sushi & sashimi. But what really made Kawata special was the people. This was a mom & pop restaurant, there were no gimicks, no flash. It was simple and cozy. It was comfort. When people visited from out of town, I often made it a point to bring them.
The owners treated everyone like family. About ten years ago they started taking pictures of their customers and then hung all these small snapshots on their wall. It was a lot of fun combing through the pictures trying to spot yours. Sometimes they would make copies and would give them to us. I think I had 3 or 4 different pictures on the wall. It made me feel like I was a part of the restaurant.
I have to admit that within the last year and a half, I haven't been going there as often as I used to. Partly due to cutting down on my going out to eat budget and partly due to moving further away. Sometimes I would pass it on the way to a friend's house and say that I would stop by soon. Well, this week when I drove by I realized that I wouldn't get that chance. The owners have decided to retire and so Kawata is now closed. I regret not getting the chance to eat there one more time. I will miss it very much. If the owners read this post, I wish them the best in their retirement. They deserve it after decades of bringing happiness to diners of Fairfax County.