14 JANUARY 11-17, 2024 westword.com WESTWORD | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | LETTERS | CONTENTS | lage in Akita, with which Nippon Kan has an exchange relationship. “Although I had received multiple high- value offers from collectors in the U.S. be- cause such an extensive collection of military sake cups that I had accumulated was so rare and so valuable even in Japan, I decided in the end that having them come home — i.e., ‘satogaeri’ [homecoming] — would be the best choice,” he says. That was not Homma’s fi rst generous act. From the start, drawing from his early aikido training to do good for the community, he envisioned charity work and volunteering as a hallmark of Nippon Kan. In 1991, he formalized that with the creation of the Aikido Humanitar- ian Active Network. Since then, he estimates, he’s provided over 100,000 free servings of Japanese curry for AHAN’s Monthly Meals Project, where aikido students help prepare meals for the needy. He posted photos on the restaurant’s Facebook page just before Christ- mas to mark the last Monthly Meal of 2023. After he closed Domo in late September 2022, Homma took off on world travels, visit- ing countries where he operates orphanages, schools and aikido dojos — including Brazil, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. He stopped in Tako Lang province in Thailand, where he helped fund and build Bilay House, a home for refugee children who escape the violence and political turmoil of Burma. While there, he served his trademark Japanese curry for Bilay House residents. He posts messages and photos from his young charges on Domo’s Facebook page, too. He got married in Thailand; his wife will move to Denver this year and into the Domo complex, where Homma has lived for more than three decades. Through most of the ups and downs of the pandemic, aikido classes continued at Nip- pon Kan. They aren’t as big as they used to be, but Homma is proud that they’re still held on the premises. He’s also continued to instruct members of the military; he re- cently trained Nepalese soldiers in aikido and hosted members of Nepal’s army at his dojo. And now Domo is back in business, too. The hours are more limited and the menu is smaller; for the time being, Homma has cut out some of the items he’d added over the years, things like the Wanko Sushi and his ramen bowls. They’d been reluctant nods to the growing popularity of certain Japanese foods; with not-so-great sushi available at supermarket chains and ramen sold by any number of inauthentic hipster eateries, he thought he needed to keep educating his audiences about real Japanese cuisine. He’d always been creative with his “coun- try cooking” because he grew up “binbo,” so you won’t fi nd pricey wagyu beef, high-toned handroll sushi or $20 bowls of ramen at Domo. Homma currently serves only udon noodles because they’re popular in his soy- based broth and with curry, his most popular dish (along with curry served over rice). His food palate is not fancy. It’s comfort food. While he might add more menu items and bring back other dishes, for now the menus will remain the same through lunch and dinner. Like his news about charity and volunteer work, Homma posts menu updates on the restaurant’s Facebook page, which are translated from Japanese by one of his staff. Of the dinner hours added this month, he explained: “I’ve arrived at this decision not only as enough number of staff has been secured with newer staff having been trained adequately, but also because we could not of- fer the quality of service we wanted to offer when we had to serve so many customers in short hours of lunch time and because we have received such requests from customers.” The clamor of customers was key to his return, Homma says. And you can tell he loves what he does. Every chance he gets, he walks the fl oor of the dining room and stops by the tables to speak with patrons. One recent afternoon, he encountered two couples whose fi rst dates were at Domo — albeit decades apart. One has been coming to the restaurant for many years; the other, a young couple, was celebrating a recent engagement. “I was pleasantly surprised, but I also felt very fortunate to meet with two couples who had heart-warming, life- changing events at Domo,” says Homma. Laura Bergroth, a third-generation resi- dent of Denver, was having lunch with her husband, Warrick, who’s originally from Australia but has lived in Denver for thirty years. “So we had our fi rst date here at Domo, and I had known about it for a long time. And the fact that he knew about it and picked the restaurant meant that I had to give him a second date,” she says. “It’s such a special unique culinary and cultural adventure. The spicy tuna donburi — I was so happy to see that added to the menu.” Nathan Brooks and Eun Seoul had their fi rst date at Domo four years ago. “Then yeah, there was that pandemic thing,” Brooks says. “So we recently found out that it was open again, and it’s really cool to be back here.” Especially since they just got engaged. Other regulars were also on hand. Shane Campbell has been a regular since a friend introduced him to the restaurant in 2000. He and another friend, George Lemonis, were back for lunch, and both ordered curry udon. “I can’t say it’s my favorite, because I haven’t had a bad meal yet at Domo,” Camp- bell says. “I’ve had every dish here, and I love every dish here. I found out about it closing on my newsfeed on my phone, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, please don’t.’ I wasn’t happy about it, let’s put it that way.” Lemonis is a relative newcomer to Domo, but says he would like to take beginner aikido classes at Nippon Kan. Homma would welcome him as a student. After all, it would be a natural progression for a diner at Domo to become a student at his dojo. Even his employees call him “sensei,” or teacher, and Homma is always quick to say that his main job is to run his Nippon Kan. But his second job is gaining in importance: his work through AHAN, where he supports charitable efforts not just here in Denver, but in third-world countries where there are populations in need and people going hungry. And then comes the restaurant, so beloved by local diners. But all three parts of his life are intercon- nected. As his chopstick wrappers suggest: “Dine at Domo and Feed the World.” Email the author at [email protected]. Cafe continued from page 13
