Akira Back Heads to San Diego Next

SAN DIEGO — Chef Akira Back plans to open Lumi by Akira Back at the corner of Fifth Avenue and J Street. A modern Japanese menu goes with the 5,000-square-foot rooftop space. Back, of course, has Yellowtail at the Bellagio and Kumi at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, as well as a slew of his namesake restaurants in Toronto, Bangkok, Vietnam, Singapore, New Delhi, and Jakarta. Back is also a partner in Dosa in Seoul, and earned a Michelin Star for the past two years. [Eater SD]

PORTLAND, OREGON — Chocolatier Jin Caldwell of Las Vegas high-end chocolate shop Jinju Chocolates plans to open her new patisserie in Portland in late February or March. Caldwell, who worked at the Bellagio and Wynn, also tells Eater PDX that she wants to eventually move her operations to Portland. “I have really great clients in Las Vegas, but I want to find the happiness I’m looking for, more balance in my life,” Caldwell says. “That’s how I found Portland.” [EPDX]

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