One of Dallas’ most adored pop-ups to emerge in the course of the pandemic is taking that following phase: Okaeri Cafe, which specializes in genuine Japanese food, is opening a lasting site in Richardson, on Terrace Drive, in the vicinity of the DFW Chinatown heart off Greenville Avenue.

According to co-operator Gene Tran, who founded Okaeri with college buddy Michelle Pepping, they’re aiming to open in the drop.

The duo debuted Okaeri in 2020, creating a loyal adhering to through term of mouth. In pop-up trend, they would put up their menu on-line and take orders, then create a window for pickups in pop-up style, they bought out like nuts — specifically their bento bins, with Japanese curry and mounds of rice molded into lovely very little bear-designs, with pieces of seaweed included for ears, eyes, and nose.

But they’ve also assisted introduce genuine Japanese dishes these kinds of as okonomiyaki pancakes, designed with shredded cabbage, scallions, and meat or seafood and omurice, a trendy and comforting fusion dish with a soft omelet draped above a dome of fried rice.

You could title very significantly any slicing-edge Japanese dish that surfaced all through the pandemic, and Okaeri has possibly manufactured it: from “hotto doggu” — incredibly hot puppies protected with meal-measurement toppings this kind of as noodles or shaved beef — to “onigirazu,” like a cross in between sushi and a sandwich, layering rice with fillings this kind of as Spam and egg or chicken katzu, fried hen in a crunchy panko crust.

Their remarkable diploma of authenticity is served by the point that Tran lived in Japan for a couple a long time and observed these foodstuff initially-hand.

“I was impressed to shift there soon after my greatest mate went to university in Japan,” Tran says. “I lived there for a few years, I liked it. When I came back again, I believed, ‘Why not deliver a minimal taste of Japan below?'”

He and Pepping, who owns Cajun cafe Tasty Tails in Richardson, worked on the Okaeri Cafe strategy for two yrs, with the goal of owning it be a brick and mortar place.

The cafe will include not only the Japanese products for which they’ve turn out to be known, but also an full espresso program that fulfills Pepping’s longtime need to have her have espresso store.

“As a pop-up, it can be hard to do beverages, and the cafe will give us a spot to do coffee as very well as high-high quality Japanese teas,” Tran claims.

The pandemic could have been a defeating detail, but they turned it all over in their favor, embracing the short-term pop-up model as an possibility to workshop their concept and rotate in new dishes to see what the sector liked — a pandemic legacy and practice they will proceed, even when they’re in their long lasting space.