A bridge, built in a hard year

Kinka was founded by Tom & EunYoung Sebazco in the summer of 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. They watched the beginning of what the world would become while traveling in Japan in February of that year; slowly, society closed down to quarantine, and the original launch date of March 17, 2020 was delayed until July 7, 2020, in the Flatiron District of New York City. People were still hesitant to step inside the store — but they were willing to talk, and to share smiles behind their masks.

“The sum experience of opening in that presence was a grateful and humbling process. We have learned positive energy from so many amazing people.” It started smaller still — Kinka’s first form was an eighty-square-foot pop-up, and its first seeds were EunYoung’s 2019 ceramics and cultural evenings at the restaurant Kosaka.

On April 1st, 2023, KINKA relocated to the heart of the East Village — STORE EAST — carrying its Art, Food and Plants with support from the neighborhood, old and new, and room for more classes, events, and cross-pollination.

“My entire life, my favorite part of, not just New York, but the planet has been the East Village.”