Industry City’s Japan Village, a sprawling hub of Japanese cuisine, announced a massive second-floor upward expansion of its current location. Dubbed ‘The Loft’ at Japan Village, the new retail concept looks to further celebrate the Japanese community in Brooklyn, inviting visitors to experience Japanese culture and products first-hand.
Utilizing approximately 20,000 square feet above the existing 20,000-square-foot Japanese food hall — which includes a food hall, grocery store, marketplace, restaurant, cocktail bar and more — The Loft serves as a center for exploring the theme of Japanese art, beauty, culture and lifestyle.
“The concept for the food hall at Japan Village was inspired by the country’s famous markets and the buzzing energy of arcades,” said Jim Somoza, managing director of Industry City. “The Loft beautifully balances the ground floor offering, curated to highlight the diversity of craft among the regions and prefectures of Japan.”
“Since the opening of Japan Village, we have aimed to create a culture of omotenashi, the Japanese approach to great hospitality and a mutual respect for our guests,” said co-owner Erina Yoshida. “Our expansion in Industry City with The Loft is an exciting new way to support Japanese makers, lift up our community, and celebrate Japanese culture in a way that is welcoming to all.”
The Loft houses both local and international Japanese brands, offering a wide variety of goods and services, many of which, are only available in Japan. Visitors can peruse both long-term and rotating vendors including:
Daiso, a large Japanese franchise founded in Japan, known internationally for its quality, reasonably priced items. The store carries a range of over 100,000 products — many of which are extremely affordable and popular —consisting largely of Japanese snacks, beverages, beauty supplies, kitchenware, stationery items and more.
BookOff, Japan’s largest chain of used bookstores offering a wide range of anime-related products. Merchandise includes manga, novels, CDs, DVDs, video games, figures, apparel and accessories.
Setomonoya, seller of Japanese ceramics and porcelain goods, such as teapots, teacups, and bowls, each uniquely handmade with passion and care.
Chashitsu, which offers guests an authentic Japanese tea ceremony experience, including the ritualistic preparation, serving and drinking of tea representing harmony, respect, purity and tranquility.
Beauty at The Loft, which aims to introduce and highlight natural Japanese beauty products to the community and educating the New York beauty market on the benefits of Japanese cosmetics, skincare, body care and hair care products. Beauty at The Loft provides in-house nail and lash services by professional Japanese cosmetologists.
In addition to these vendors and experiences, The Loft will continue to evolve and grow to include Japanese fabrics, educational classes and more.
