Building Miami’s First Hand Roll Bar with Edouard Benitah of Pari Pari

In this episode, Alan talks with Edouard Benitah, co-founder of Pari Pari, a hand roll bar in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. Originally from Paris, Edouard came to the U.S. in 2015, working his way up through the restaurant industry in New York and Los Angeles. He fell in love with the streamlined, high-impact concept of a dedicated hand roll bar after experiencing Kazunori in LA: minimal staff, efficient operations, and a focus on quality.

When he moved to Miami during the pandemic, he was surprised there were no hand roll bars in the city. Alongside co-founders Hugo and Ben, and Michelin-starred chef Yasu Tanaka, he began building the concept from scratch. The journey has been three years in the making, with over 54 inspections, complex permitting, and nearly $1M raised, but the payoff is a proof-of-concept flagship designed to scale to multiple Miami locations.

We cover:

• Why Miami was the perfect launch city despite massive permitting challenges
• How partnering with a Michelin-starred chef elevated the concept
• The three co-founders’ clearly defined roles: development, branding, operations
• Creating a brand experience that blends Japanese culinary tradition with French design
• How to time your PR and Instagram launch for maximum impact
• Lessons from working in New York, LA, and Miami’s different dining cultures
• Scaling plans and what it takes to protect brand integrity across multiple locations

Whether you’re opening your first hospitality concept or scaling a brand in a competitive market, this episode is packed with insights on branding, operations, and the patience required to survive the buildout phase.

Resources & Links
Pari Pari: https://www.instagram.com/paripari_miami/
Follow Edouard: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edouard-benitah-502296a8/

Made possible by Signs and Mirrors, the leading sign, fixture, and furniture shop for events and retail stores.

Opening Soon Links & Resources
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→ Follow us on Instagram: @openingsoonpodcast
→ More episodes and guest info: https://www.openingsoonpodcast.com
→ Your Host Alan Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-li-711a8629/ 

Transcript

Alan Li (00:01)
Welcome to opening soon, a podcast where we interview retail founders about how they started and run their brick and mortar businesses. I'm your host, Alan Li, I run Signs and Mirrors where we make beautiful signs and furniture for retail stores. I also help run FotoLab a self-portrait studio with locations in New York city and Houston.

Alan Li (00:20)
Today's guest, Edouard Benitah, is the co-founder of Pari Pari, a hand roll bar in Miami's Wynwood district. Originally from Paris, Edward moved to the US in 2015, working his way up from server to general manager across restaurants in New York City and California. After falling in love with the hand roll bar model in LA, he decided to bring the concept to Miami. In this episode, we dive into how Edward teamed up with Michelin star chef Yasu Tanaka

navigated Miami's notoriously difficult permitting process with over 54 inspections, raised $1 million to open his first location, and built the brand with the goal of expanding to six locations across the city. This is a great episode for anyone interested in launching a food concept and a competitive market.

Alan Li (01:06)
All right. Hey, Edward, thanks so much for joining the opening soon podcast. Awesome. Yeah, I'm really excited about today's episode because I know that party party, the hand roll bar in Miami is going to open in just a couple of weeks. So we'll get to spend a lot of time into all the nitty and gritty of opening an actual brick and mortar space So before we start, could you give a little bit of your background and how you got here?

Edouard (01:09)
Hey Alan, thank you for the invitation.

Yeah, sure. Actually, ⁓ I'm from France. I'm originally from Pari. And I moved to the US to New York in 2015. And I started my journey in the restaurant industry. So I started with the position of server in a restaurant in New York. And after, I became a manager, plus general manager in different space, always around the restaurant industry and the food and beverage industry.

Alan Li (01:54)
Uh-huh.

Edouard (01:54)
and

I have always in mind to create my own concept and I discovered the concept of Handroll Bar in LA in 2016 or 2017, I don't really remember but I think 2017, something like that. I'm totally a big fan of the concept because when you come from the food and beverage industry it's really great because you don't have a lot of servers, don't have a lot of operations, so the operation is really really easy. Plus I really love the Handrolls so it was really a match.

Alan Li (02:07)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Edouard (02:24)
with the Handroll bar and I continue my, I would say like life in LA. During the COVID, I need to move back in Pari and after like one years in Pari, I moved to Miami and in Miami actually, don't have Handroll bar when I came in like 2020 or 2021,

And so with a friend of mine, we just sit and say, OK, we need to create something about Handroll in Miami because that's crazy. And all over the world and all over the US, like in New York, you have maybe 20 different brands. You have in Washington, in Chicago, in some smaller cities than Miami, but really nothing in Miami. So we met a chef at this time. He became actually our chef. His name is Yasut Anaka. And for being honest, he's one of the best chefs in Miami, Michelin stars and everything.

Alan Li (02:50)
Yeah.

Edouard (03:11)
He's really a great chef, really famous in Miami. And we started the conversation with him, like now maybe three years ago. And he totally understands the concept. And during two months, we met the chef and we met some investors. So really, the concept, like...

He was created really during this time.

Alan Li (03:30)
Yeah,

that's exciting. Before we dive in, tell me a little bit more about your experience in New York City restaurants. And I know that you said you like the hand roll concept because it's not as complicated as maybe a traditional full service dining. So what type of restaurants were you working on in New York City?

Edouard (03:46)
Actually, I work in a French restaurant, obviously. So it was really easy for me to work in a kind of French restaurant because I'm French. So to be honest, it was really better for me about the language and everything. So that helped me a lot. And after that...

Alan Li (03:48)
⁓ yeah, I see.

Edouard (04:03)
I discovered the restaurant industry during this time, about the people, the energy in the restaurant, you exchange with people and everything. I really love all the F &B, like hospitality and everything. So I used to work three years in New York and after I moved to LA. So yeah.

Alan Li (04:24)
Was the handlebar in LA that you tried, that like Kazunori or one of the more popular ones?

Edouard (04:28)
Exactly, it

was first one, was Casu Nori, like today is always like Casu Nori, the first one is like the real one, I would say.

Alan Li (04:37)
Yeah, no, I've been to the one in LA. I think they have multiple and they have a couple in New York now too, but yeah, it's a fun spot. Cool. then tell me about your move to Miami. What prompted the move there and why did you choose that as your destination for opening this store?

Edouard (04:41)
Yeah, exactly, Yeah.

Actually, one of my best friends ⁓ who I used to live in New York and in LA moved to Miami and he told me a lot of great things about Miami. During this time I was in Pari and it was not really a fun time in Pari. It was COVID and everything. And I don't really know what I can do in Pari. It was a little bit complicated. And he told me, look, I have a really great friend of mine. He has a restaurant in Miami. He's looking for a GM. So maybe that can fit and everything. So I said, OK, I directly called the guy and he told me, OK, you need to come in Miami just to make a

training like for a few days and we see what's happened and finally was a it was a big match with this guy his name is Ben and he was really cool and everything so ⁓ I come back to Pari to do my visa and with my visa I moved back to Miami like maybe three or four months after just the time to get my visa and I start to work at the GM so the name of the restaurant is Cafe Bastille like for four to five months and like after like three months at Cafe Bastille I discover it don't have hand roll

in Miami so I was really focused on the concept of opening the Handroll bar in Miami so I quit my job at Cafe Bassi to be totally focused on the concept of Handroll bar. So I don't really choose Miami but I'm really happy actually.

Alan Li (06:06)
I see. but this time you're really interested in the hand roll bar concept and you quit your job. So what are the next steps between quitting your job

Edouard (06:13)
Actually the first step is really to make the chef because like me and my partners we are not chef. We are like entrepreneur and everything but we are not chef so we really need a great chef. So the first things for me and actually I'm a big fan of food and Japanese food really so the first thing to do is really to find a great chef that can fit with the project and and for me it was a dream with my with my partners to work with this chef so the negotiation is a little bit long and complicated but finally we we sent the contract with him and so yeah that's

really the first step to quit my job is when we sign the contract with the chef.

Alan Li (06:47)
I see. Talk to me a little bit about your partners. Are these your friends? Are these other people? How did you meet them?

Edouard (06:54)
Actually, have two partners and co-founders. have, so Hugo is one of my best friends for a long, long time and we really have the envy to open the concept together. So it was really good. We are in the same city with the same idea and everything, so it was really good. And Ben, my other partners, actually he's living in Pari at this time and he really wants to go in Miami and everything and he's also a big fan of concept about restaurant and everything. So we fit all together to create

this concept. we have three co-founders plus some investors.

Alan Li (07:26)
Okay, are there specific roles that each of you take throughout this project or is it, hey, here's three friends that want to do something together and let's do it.

Edouard (07:35)
At

the beginning, was just some three friends wanting do something together. after months, we decided to put some roles on everyone. So now the role is really specific to Hugo, to Ben and to me. We don't work on the same subject and we are really complementary, so that's good.

Alan Li (07:40)
Yeah.

Can you tell me a little bit about what you focus on and what Hugo and Ben focuses on?

Edouard (07:57)
Yes, Actually, Hugo is really focused on all the...

the to raise the money and really about the development of the concept. he talked a lot with investors, with some real estate agents to find some new places, to find some money to create the business. But he's not in hand in the operational of the restaurant every day. Ben is more like a marketing side, brand manager, and really about the brand because we want to create something with a big brand.

Like for me right now, the brands with a lot of value come really from some F &B industry. It's really amazing. So we really need to create a strong brand. So that's the part of Ben. And me, I'm more on the operational of the restaurants. I really inside the restaurant about the food, the relationship with the chef, with the server. So we have one role

development, one for the brand and the marketing and one for the restaurant, the recipe, the chef, the waiters, like the cocktails and everything and all the atmosphere inside the restaurants.

Alan Li (08:58)
I see. Okay, no, that's really helpful in just better understanding who's doing what. Now you have a good team and this good base to start off with. Is the next step, as you mentioned, to raise money or was it to look at spaces? What next step did you take?

Edouard (09:11)
Actually we open in two weeks, so for now we are all focused to the opening and to make something great for the opening. But yeah, like I said, have some few investors and we need to... We really want to open like a three to four locations in the next five years. And in Miami, that takes a long, long time to open a location. So we know that for the next six, seven, eight months, I would say, we're to be really focused in the restaurants inside. And actually, this one is really a proof of concept. We really need to prove the concept with this first location.

We

want to open the next one in one year and maybe the third one in two years, but we really want to scale as fast as we can.

Alan Li (09:49)
Sure, but give me a little bit of the timeline because you're about to open in two weeks, but when did the concept come together for you and also your chef Yasu and how long did that take before getting to this point?

Edouard (10:01)
you

Actually that takes like maybe one year but we worked on the project for three years because in Miami all the permits from the city, the construction took a lot of time. So to create the concept, to create the brand, the menus, the recipe and everything that doesn't take a lot of time but all the construction parts that took really a long time. So that's why we know we need to really work before on the second location to be ready like for in one year.

Alan Li (10:22)
I see.

Edouard (10:30)
in the half.

Alan Li (10:31)
Yeah,

so you had the concept three years ago, but all the construction and all the nitty gritty started happening about a year ago.

Edouard (10:37)
Exactly, The time to find the money, to find the space, to find the GCE, to find the architect. And this is like six, seven months. And after, it's like maybe two years and half, two years to get all the permit, all the license, and to make all the construction. Yeah, it's huge in Miami to do the construction. It's really complicated.

Alan Li (10:51)
Wow.

How much did you have to raise for this proof of concept and to open a spot in Miami that's taking quite a bit of time? How much does it even cost to open something like this?

Edouard (11:05)
We raised like around one million.

Alan Li (11:06)
about a million dollars raised. Okay, and then is that all going towards sort of the opening or a bit of that for future locations

Edouard (11:07)
Yes. Yeah.

it's really for the first location. It's really only for the first location, but with with the million we also create the brand the infrastructure and everything so for the second one We didn't not gonna need one million to open the second location obviously But for the first one we create the brand we can all the image of the brand so yeah

Alan Li (11:34)
I see.

Edouard (11:34)
need to get also the visas, everything. the first one is a more complicated one, I think. I hope, actually.

Alan Li (11:39)
Yeah.

I hope so too, and I think it will. Tell me about how you decided the location in Wynwood, how you chose the designers to help you, how you created the brand. Walk me through all the nitty gritty of going through those steps.

Edouard (11:55)
So actually we would it's because we have a great opportunity about the space We have a friend of us just open a restaurant just in front So he talked about this area and this street actually because it's really new It's brand new all the building and everything

The height, it's amazing in the space. So you have a lot of light and everything. So when we see the space, we OK, it's this one for sure. And actually, I think in Miami, it's really like a destination place. Like, the people don't walk in the street and say, this is cool or this is cool. No, they take the car and say, OK, we're going to go there. We're going to go there. Like in Pari, for example, because we're from Pari, like the people can walk in the street and discover some stuff and everything that happened. But in Miami, that never happened. Like everyone is in the car.

and everything, just put the address on Google Maps and he go directly to the restaurants. So yes, it's really like the architecture of the space was really amazing with a big, big height, a lot of concrete, so the space was really, really good. Actually, like Ben and me, my other confederate, we have a big fan of architecture and everything, so the space was really important for us. So that's how we find the first location.

Alan Li (13:03)
I see.

Edouard (13:05)
for the architecture plan I would say. We work with two different architects from France.

One for all the technical part, and the other one more for the decorative part and everything. And both of us are really great and I'm really, really happy with the space right now. The construction is great and all the different details are really amazing. And for be honest, I think it's not every day you can see space like that in Miami because all the different details are really, really tailored and everything.

To honest, work lot on all the different details of the restaurant and everything. But at the same time, working with a French architect when you have project in Miami, it's not really easy, I can be honest with you. They are not the same rules, they are not the same metrics. So sometimes it's a little bit complicated, but I think at the same time, it's also like why the space is going to be different from the other space in Miami, because it's a French touch. We have a French touch on the architectural plane.

Alan Li (13:42)
Yeah.

Edouard (14:00)
everything so I think that's going to be good.

Alan Li (14:02)
I love

that. How big is the space that you're in?

Edouard (14:05)
It's like 1,200 square feet. So it's not a huge space. It's not a huge space. It's just around the counter. We have 25 seats around the counter. So it's not a big place. And that's another thing in the, I would say, like in the concept. We don't want to create like a place like with a lot of table. We want to create an intimate place, like something of the people can come every day and really feel like at home. Like the goal is really to create something of us by guest. We're going to be really happy to be there.

every day you know what I mean

Alan Li (14:35)
Yeah,

yeah, yeah. So 1200 square feet and you can fit about 25 seats around the counter. Okay, that's cool. And how much does a space like that go for in, know, when would in Miami right now? Yeah, the rent.

Edouard (14:40)
Exactly. Yeah.

Like the went, you mean?

The went is 9k per month. Yeah.

Alan Li (14:52)
9K per month. Okay.

And then you mentioned there was also a lot of permitting that you had to get and receive before you're able to open. I imagine that's a lot due to maybe like the cooking and the equipment. Talk me through some of the permits and what took a long time to get here.

Edouard (15:07)
You have two hours for tracking the bar with cameras because... Yeah, no, the thing is like just for giving you an example, we passed 54 inspections. 54. So 54 different inspectors come to the space to verify everything, everything. like, I give you an example, but if you decide to put an outlet like here and finally you put it like here,

Alan Li (15:09)
Just just just one hour. Give me the short version

Wow.

Edouard (15:27)
Yeah, we need to revise all the plane to recent to the city is I can take four months just if you decide to move a little bit when I would let so for be honest it was crazy crazy

Alan Li (15:38)
Is

this a Miami specific ruling or is this like also New York City or is it other places?

Edouard (15:41)
Yeah. Now in

Miami it's really crazy. It's really different than New York or LA. Miami it's really, that took really more time in Miami than in other cities. I don't know why, to be honest, but it's really complicated and all the different persons who I talk, who going to open a restaurant and everything, it's always the same story. That took like two years, three years, four years, they spend like million and million on construction. So yeah, that's really crazy.

Alan Li (16:05)
Wow, so for you guys, took just about a year to get to this point to open. If you were to open in New York, how many months do you think it would take you?

Edouard (16:13)
For being honest, think like half of the time, like one year and half, yeah, I think one year and a half is going to be... I think so. I never opened a restaurant in New York, so I'm not really sure, but in my idea and when I talk to my friend and everything, that's what I understand.

Alan Li (16:16)
half the time.

Wow. Well, I mean, guess it's a bit of a double-edged sword because it's taking so long and so much money to open, it makes it more difficult for other restaurants to open and copy the concept or do something similar. So it could be a benefit.

Edouard (16:41)
Totally, totally

and the thing is that for be honest with you you have a lot of a lot of different Entrepreneur in the restaurant industry try to open a restaurant in Miami and after like one years and a half of two years He pay went he pay architects they pay start the construction everything but it's too much money and they quit the concept just Like before before the opening and I was really scary of this during during all the construction and everything But finally we we find the solution and we're gonna open in two weeks, but

But yeah, it's really, hard, to be honest. And even for the big group, for the big hospitality group, or they open many locations in New York and in LA, when they come in Miami, it's complicated. It's always complicated.

Alan Li (17:22)
So you have personal friends that have spent a lot of money to try to open and they didn't even open because it was just too much.

Edouard (17:28)
I have not personal friends, I like a friend who knows some people and everything, tell me the story. And actually, it's really famous in Miami. It's really complicated. So a lot of guys from South America or from Europe try to open some space in Miami, but it's so expensive that it takes so much time. So finally, they quit.

Alan Li (17:44)
⁓

Knowing what you know now and how difficult it is to open a space in Miami, would you have chose Miami to open your first restaurant or would you have chose New York or LA?

Edouard (17:55)
No, think Miami is a good choice because actually I don't have a real competitor in Miami so it's really, really amazing. And I think it's kind of a new city, like the city moves every day, that changes every day. No, I think Miami is a good choice. It's a good choice. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Alan Li (18:09)
You think it's a good choice? Okay.

Because people in Miami haven't experienced the hand roll bar or the way that you want to have them experience it, how are you educating consumers about this new concept?

Edouard (18:19)
Actually, first of all, we work with one of the great chefs of Miami. So just this name, it's really famous in Miami. So I think they're going to bring a lot of people just to get the name of Yasutanaka under Pari Pari. And also, the end roll, it's not famous in Miami, but the people know end roll. They're going to eat end roll at just a regular sushi place or Japanese place. For example, my chef do some end roll at this place. But it's not an hand roll bar. The concept is not to do just hand roll.

Alan Li (18:30)
Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Edouard (18:47)
And

the people know their own because I don't have a competitor but I have placed are doing some handroll like at the end of the menu for example they have two or three Handrolls so they know what is an handroll but I think

They want to discover some new concepts, so they're going to be happy to find a new concept. And for being honest, the food is going to be really amazing and not really expensive. The space is really, really beautiful. So we really try to make something great on all the different subjects. The architecture, the food, the price, the music, the atmosphere, the vibe. On all the different subjects, we try to work with the best and to do something really great.

Alan Li (19:24)
Yeah, is that how did you guys find our signs for your your sidewalk?

Edouard (19:29)
actually I find it on Instagram. I see your page and I see a lot of pictures of different guys order some sign from you They wrote on the sign and it was really good. I really love the pieces. It's exactly what I said before. We try on all the different details to do the best.

Alan Li (19:48)
I know.

Edouard (19:49)
on the sign, I think you are the best. We try to use really all the different assets we can to do something great.

Alan Li (19:55)
Well, based on ⁓ our relationship, I know that you must be working with the best for all your other pieces too. So I'm happy to hear that. Tell me a little bit more about the relationship with Yasu Tanaka. And he seems like he has ⁓ his own sushi restaurant in Miami and he's pretty popular. How does that relationship work? Is it based on like a consulting fee? Is he a partner in the business? Does he design the menu? How does that work exactly?

Edouard (20:02)
Hahaha

Actually, at the beginning, we really want to get Yasu as a partner of the concept. we pay a lot of lawyers to make some big contracts, like with eight, nine pages and everything. And when we send the contract, Yasu called me and told me, I really appreciate your effort and everything, but it's totally...

not what I want. I really want to get like a family deal, like we are friends and everything. I want something simple. I don't want to make like too much complication and everything. And he told me at this time, I have already two restaurants and he opened a third restaurant, like it's going to be a omakase, really high-end, like 400 per person and everything. So he told me, I'm not going to be like the chef every day of your restaurant. I'm going to do the recipe. I'm going to form all your stuff. You can use my name for the PR and everything, but I'm not going to be the chef every day at the restaurant.

For me it was really good because actually, Handroll Bar don't need a chef as Yasu Tanaka every day for the daily routine of the operation. So for me it was really the best deal. He gave me the recipe, provider and also he formed all my staff and that's the most important thing. So at the beginning it was that. So it was just a consulting and finally like one month ago, I think like we are closer and closer with Yasu.

Alan Li (21:15)
Yeah. Yeah.

Edouard (21:36)
every day we talk and everything so we have right now a really good relationship and he said I really want to be part of the concept with you guys not just as a consulting fee and everything but here with you every day and everything so we change the contracts just like two weeks two weeks ago and now he's going to be more involved in the the restaurant and everything with us yeah

Alan Li (21:40)
Nice.

That's really exciting. ⁓

I know that you mentioned that this is not just the one location here and you want it to be a much bigger thing. Tell me bit more about your ambition of what you think Pari Pari is going to be.

Edouard (22:10)
Actually the goal is really, like I said, to create a big brand, like really famous and everything. And I think in Miami, it's kind of easy with the geography to open like five or six locations. Just with the geography, can really like be all over the city with five or six locations. So that's really our goal and we have a lot of example in Miami with some pizza place, some like boys first place. They open the first one and after they put one over there, one in South.

beach, one in Aventura for example. So with five or six locations we can get all over the city. So that's our goal to start to be like the hand roll bar in Miami and after to expand maybe in Florida, maybe in Dubai, I don't know, we can expand all over the US but for now we are really focused in Florida and in Miami.

Alan Li (22:48)
Yeah.

I see.

Ahead of your opening in a couple weeks, ⁓ what is taking up most of your time? What's keeping you up at night?

Edouard (23:05)
Actually, it's all different subjects. Just one subject is all different subjects. ⁓

Alan Li (23:10)
everything.

Edouard (23:11)
Yeah, the thing is like now we have a lot of time to work on all the different subjects. like the hiring people, like the recipe, all of this stuff are already done. Like we have a lot of time to work on that. So now all of this is done. And now it's more about details in the restaurant, like decoration stuff, what we're gonna put on the shelf, what we're gonna do, like when the people come for wash their hands. It's a lot of different details like that. But we really want to create like a...

vibe like with 100 % like when the guests just came in the restaurant and when you live in the restaurant they're gonna have a lot of different things like all the details in the Rest Room like we try to be better on the recipe and change a little thing and everything like just yesterday we do a tasting with a chef to just change a little things like at the beginning we have just some radish and we decide to chop the radish but finally that change everything because it's more crispy so it's really about details it's really about details

Alan Li (24:05)
So you're really focused on making sure every detail is perfect right before you open. Okay. I know that you also have been doing a bit of marketing and trying to get the word out about Pari Pari. And I think you were mentioned as one of the top eight most anticipated openings in I think the Miami Herald. How did you get those pieces of press? ⁓ Did you reach out to them yourself? Did you have PR?

Edouard (24:05)
video.

Exactly.

yet.

Now we have a PR agency actually, we work with the PR agency for three months now. The agencies are really great. Actually the Handroll Bar is a new concept in Miami. So it's easy for the place to make some content and everything because it's a new concept. Plus we have Yasuda and Naka, who are really really famous in Miami. So I think the combination between the new concept plus Yasut and Naka in a cool space with a crazy architecture and everything

I think it's really good for the place. So that's how we get the first article here.

Alan Li (24:56)
Yeah.

Tell me a little bit about working with this PR agency. ⁓ How helpful have they been? How many articles do they get you? Because I think this is a thing that a lot of people who are opening brick and mortar spaces consider. Should I work with PR or should I not? Tell me about your experience.

Edouard (25:13)
Actually, for now we have only one article, but because we open in two weeks, so we don't need to get as much as article before the opening. But it's a lot about...

Alan Li (25:19)
Yeah.

Edouard (25:21)
Advice which like for example like for friend and family before the opening like How we gonna send the invitation what's gonna be the food? If the guest gonna pay or no when is the best day to launch or restaurant when is the best best day to launch Instagram like for give an example we didn't launch Instagram for now because you can see like restaurant in Miami they say like six months ago open in two weeks and final is they're gonna open like two years after

Because Miami is crazy about this so we decide to don't open the Instagram now all the content is ready and everything But we really decide to open like 10 days before to get really great content every day and not to be postponed like it's gonna be in two weeks in two weeks in one month so it's a lot of advice with the PR agency and and for now we have like some First article in the Miami time plus we work with some different media right now to get some article at the opening so yeah, I think the PR agency

it's really necessary when you open a restaurant. Like we decide to don't take a marketing team because for be honest I don't really understand what a marketing team can do for a restaurant at the beginning but PR agency and the relationship between the press and the restaurant it's really important for me.

Alan Li (26:32)
I see. Tell me about how you came up with the name Pari Pari, what it represents. I think it has some Parisian roots to it,

Edouard (26:39)
Actually, we think a lot about the name, but really, really a lot. Actually, all the trick of the day, we think a lot about a lot of details and a lot of things. the name, yeah, but the name we're thinking like maybe for two months about the name. And we came to Miami to visit Yasu and everything. And when we talk to Yasu, I say, look, if you find a name for the restaurant, you are looking for a name like a little bit funny and everything. If you have something in mind, just tell me. Say, okay, no problem. And two hours after, he me a text and he say, look, I find an ID

Alan Li (26:46)
Good.

Edouard (27:07)
for your Restaurant one, the name is going to be, could be Pari Pari And I remember like exactly when I am at this time, I was in the car with my two friends and co-founder and we say, okay, ⁓ yes, that could be a good idea, but we are not really sure about Pari Pari and everything because we are from Pari and like.

When you're from Paris and everything, you have some space in Pari, like Pari Pari and everything, but there are some bistros, some French cafes, you know, it's not really Japanese. And he told me Pari Pari in Japanese, without the S at the end, means crispy. And crispy is one of the most important things in the end roll. The nori, like the seaweed, needs to be crispy.

Alan Li (27:43)
Yeah.

Yes.

Edouard (27:45)
So PariPari make a lot of sense right now because you have the sense about we are all from Pari so that's funny because we're from Pari and everything. Plus that's real meaning in Japanese with the relation with the concept and also it's easy to understand and easy to save in your head. know what I mean? Like PariPari, it's catchy. So finally like two weeks after I say, okay, PariPari is great. it's all the different things we need in the name are in PariPari. So I say, okay, PariPari is perfect.

Alan Li (28:11)
I see. Yeah, I love the blend. I didn't realize it also meant crunchy, but yeah, the worst thing is going to a hand roll bar and things are soggy. So you want things to be very, very crunchy. How much research and trying other hand roll bars like Kazunori or the ones in New York did you have to do to come up with Pari Pari and influence the menu there?

Edouard (28:12)
So he's from the ship.

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Alan Li (28:33)
and differentiate yourself.

Edouard (28:34)
a lot, honest, a lot, but this is not a work. It's plus a pleasure, you know what I mean? When you need to discover a new handroll bar, it's really a pleasure, and it's not something related to work for us, you know what I mean? So we've not discovered a new concept, but it's just not about handroll We also discover a new concept about Japanese food. We went to New York one month ago to find also some new concepts, some new different way to serve the handroll. So we have a lot of different thing, but this is all the...

different details that we love. We really love this kind of thing so it's really a pleasure to discover some new places but we check every day on Instagram and everything. We follow some accounts like Japanese food, new restaurants in New York, Miami and everything and when we find something really interesting we go to New York, we go to the new place to check all the details, how they do this, how they do that to find the best way to do it.

Alan Li (29:26)
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. I do see hand roll bars popping up in New York quite frequently. There's one across the street called Rolling. We recently went to one called Nami Nori. That was also pretty good.

Edouard (29:36)
Yeah,

yeah, Nami Nori just opened in Miami actually. That's my first company. Yeah, but for me, Naminori is great, the food is amazing, but it's not really an handroll bar. It's not, like between Kazunori and Naminori, it's really not the same, you know what I mean?

Alan Li (29:40)
they open too.

Hmm

I see. Tell me what you mean specifically.

Edouard (29:54)
Actually, for me, Naminori is like a regular restaurant. Like on the menu, can find a lot of appetizers, a lot of entry, plus some handroll. But it's just...

Alan Li (30:00)
Yep. Yes.

Edouard (30:04)
The concept is not about handroll. It's a Japanese restaurant with some handroll. You know what I mean? And I give you an example in the restaurant in Miami. You have a bar, but you have also a lot of tables. So you can order some handroll to the tables. you talk with the server. It's not a paper like at Kazunori You know what I mean? So it's not really the same concept. have a lot of server. Actually, Nami Nori is a real restaurant with a real kitchen, with a real team. Like they have some bussers, some servers, some bartenders. So it's not the same concept. Kazunori, you

Alan Li (30:09)
I see.

Mmm.

Edouard (30:33)
have only the cook and a few servers like two or three maybe and that's it. They don't have coffee, you know what I mean? It's really about the end roll.

Alan Li (30:38)
I see.

Yeah.

And for ⁓ Pari Pari, how many employees will you have staffed up for each night?

Edouard (30:48)
For each night, actually me and Ben, we're gonna be here every day. Plus, we're gonna have two cooks, one dishwasher, and maybe one server.

Alan Li (30:52)
Okay?

Okay, so you guys will be front of house or welcoming the customers and then everyone else will be serving their respective roles.

Edouard (31:01)
Yeah, exactly.

Yeah,

exactly. I think for us, it's really important to be the face of the restaurant. Because actually, like Naminori, for example, when they opened in Miami, the founder of Naminori are not here. So they are just managers, some general managers and everything. And for me, that changed everything. When you go to a place and the owner are here, you can feel the touch. You can feel everything when the owner are here. For me, that totally changed. And a lot of concept opening in Miami, from New York, from LA, just with a manager.

Alan Li (31:15)
Mmm.

Edouard (31:30)
or a general manager, but you don't feel the vibe, you don't feel really the things because the owner are not here, they didn't put the last touch to finish the concept.

Alan Li (31:39)
Just based on this conversation, I can imagine if I went to Pari Pari and you weren't there, it'd be a completely different experience. Because I can feel your passion and your enthusiasm.

Edouard (31:46)
I

not because the goal is to open many locations so I'm not going to be in all the different locations at the same time but we try to do something here with not a lot of rules but just we need to respect like identity of the restaurants.

Alan Li (32:03)
Yeah.

Edouard (32:03)
and

all the services, the hospitality. We are all French and for us, the hospitality is really important. To really the guests feel like at home when they are in the restaurant and everything, the hospitality is a big point for us.

Alan Li (32:19)
Yeah. As a French person opening a Japanese concept, talk to me about what you're able to bring in from the French side to help complement this Japanese hand roll bar.

Edouard (32:30)
Okay, actually we are big fan of the Japanese culture, so we don't really put a lot of French touch in the Japanese things, Actually all the identity of the brand and the architecture and everything, I think we can feel the French touch. You can feel it's not from the US first. And also we work and our first investors is Yann Couvreur. Yann Couvreur is a really great chef, really famous in Pari in Europe. He have a lot of location,

like more than 20 in France, more than five or six in Dubai, in Asia, in Korea, he have a lot of location, he's really, really famous. He's one of the first investors actually. So all the desserts come from Yann Couvreur So the food, the hand roll is gonna be do by Yasutana Kaba, but the dessert is gonna do by Yann Couvreur. So that's the first French touch. Plus, with all the wine.

Alan Li (33:15)
I see.

Edouard (33:19)
and the Champagne obviously are from France. We try to get a good selection because we are French, so we need to have a good selection of French wine. So yeah, it's about the wine, about the dessert. On the playlist, for example, on the playlist we put a lot, not a but a few of French songs just to get a little memory of France.

Alan Li (33:26)
Yeah.

I love that. I love that. And you mentioned this investor for the other investors that came in. ⁓ How did you reach out to them? Were these families and friends connections throughout the restaurant industry?

Edouard (33:46)
⁓

Mostly it's friends and family, for be honest. it's friends and family. Actually the amount of money to fund is not like a few million and everything, so it was really easy to work with friends and family. And Hugo really takes care of this part about where is the money and everything. But yeah, it's mostly friends and family. But we really want to have like some investors like...

related to the business. Like, Yann Couvreur is in the food industry, he worked with the chef for more than 10 years, so if we understand the food business, they opened a first location in Wynwood like two years ago. They just opened in Design District in Miami, and they're gonna open in Aventura Mall in a few weeks. So they try to expand a lot of Miami, so they have lot of sense for us to work with Yann Couvreur.

because they have a lot of knowledge how to scale a business in the US and everything. We have some close friends also. We know from many years, so they really know how we work and what we can do in the hospitality. And we have one of the founder of Dorsia It's an application to book a restaurant and everything. So same, you have a lot of sense for us to have someone in the industry can get some advice and everything.

to do a dream team. We need to do a dream team with all the different positions where some guy can be related to the business.

Alan Li (34:58)
Yeah. Edward, for people who are interested in opening a food concept that they're excited about, what's one piece of advice that you would have for them?

Edouard (35:06)
It's a good question. think we just need to visualize a lot your concept as much as you can like for be honest like I think you need to be like strict on what you think and and and go forward like you for

to find one thing is to don't give up because in Miami, for example, it's really hard, it's really long, so the goal is to don't give up and to put as much honesty as you can of what we do. For us, it's really important. At the beginning, we say, okay, but we're going to open a restaurant in Miami, a Japanese restaurant, but we are French, so we need to find a way to don't be ridiculous. You know what I mean? We are not Japanese, we are not from the US, so we need to adapt as much as we

Alan Li (35:45)
Ha

Edouard (35:49)
And also, I think the most important thing in the US, in the Restaurant industry, is to really be adapted to the US people. Because the US people are not going to be adapted to you. So we really need to find a way to understand how they eat, how they drink, and really to fit in our things.

Alan Li (35:56)
Hmm.

Yeah.

Because you're opening in Miami and because you've spent time in New York, how would you describe the differences between a New York City customer versus a Miami customer?

Edouard (36:15)
Actually the New York City Costumers for me is really more... How can I pointy? Piki? Yeah, it's really more piki, exactly.

Alan Li (36:20)
picky. New York is very picky.

Yeah.

Edouard (36:22)
They

are really more picky. And for me, it's kind of better because you have a lot of competitors in New York. So you have really, really a lot. Like for handroll bar for example, you have like 20 different brands have some handroll bar in New York. So yes, the guests can be picky because they can judge and compare with other concepts and everything. So yes, they are really much picky.

I think that's really the huge difference. For me, New York is a laboratory. You can really taste your concept in New York. And if they work in New York, they're going to work all over the world. know what I mean? So that's really different. In Miami, they are less picky, but at the same time, they are not the same culture as in New York to discover a lot of things and everything. So yeah, that's really different. In Miami, I think we need to have a brand really strong.

Alan Li (36:56)
Uh-huh.

In Miami, you need a stronger brand. And then in New York, people are much more picky because they have a lot more options to go to. If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. I've heard that many times. ⁓ Awesome. Well, Edward, you know, looking back on your journey so far over the last three years, you know, thinking of the concept, working on the concept and knowing what you know now, if you could go back and change any one thing, what would you have changed?

Edouard (37:15)
Exactly.

I think so, yeah, I think so.

you

It's a good question. I never think about this. But my first thing to say, I think I will change nothing, for goodness. I will change nothing because that's why we are here now, because we manage things day by day and we have really a good team. We talk every day. And I think it is what it is. know what I mean? for me, like in France, you have a lot of sense to say that and everything, but it's not the goal. It's like the world to go to the goal. You know what I mean? And we are in the world right now. So I don't want to change the world.

it is and for be honest it's just good memory, good things. It was hard, it was long, you need to find money and everything but at the end we are really happy and for be honest I will change nothing.

Alan Li (38:16)
I love

that. Well, I'm really excited for your potential opening soon in the next few weeks. And, ⁓ you know, I come down to Miami every so often. Last time was for a bachelor party. So maybe next time will be for something a little bit less ridiculous, but we'll try to make sure to stop by Pari Pari. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for taking the time. Best of luck. And then we'll keep in touch and I'll look out for the sign on the street too.

Edouard (38:21)
Thank you very much.

Let's go.

Yes, please.

Thank you.

Sure. Thank you very much, Alan. Thank you for your time. Bye.

Alan Li (38:43)
Thanks, Edward.

Alan Li (38:44)
Thanks for listening. If you liked this episode, feel free to visit openingsoonpodcast.com for all of our episodes online. If you run a retail store and need updated furniture or signage, please feel free to visit www.signsandmirrors.com. Lastly, if you have any feedback or would to be a guest on the show, email me at alan, A-L-A-N, at signsandmirrors.com. I promise I'll respond. Thanks for listening.