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David Liu is the founder of Kinjo, a 14 seat omakase counter and cocktail lounge in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Before launching Kinjo, David spent more than two decades building one of the internet’s most recognizable consumer brands as the co-founder and former CEO of The Knot. The wedding planning platform that helped shape the modern wedding industry. After taking the company public and eventually selling it, David found himself buying oyster farms in the Pacific Northwest and unexpectedly entering the restaurant business.
What started as a search for something more “analog” led David to oyster farming, investing in hospitality and eventually co-founding Kinjo, an affordable omakase concept designed to bring high-quality sushi experiences to local communities.
Today, David and his team are working to scale Kinjo beyond New York with plans to expand into cities across the country while using food as a way to build connection, community and cultural understanding.
In this episode, we talk about:
• Building The Knot from the early days of the internet to a public company
• Why David walked away from tech after 20 years
• Buying and operating one of the country’s largest oyster farms
• The surprising economics behind omakase restaurants
• Why David believes sushi can scale across America
• Building Kinjo and expanding into multiple cities
• Using hospitality and food to bridge cultural divides
• Lessons from working alongside his wife for decades
Resources & Links
Kinjo Website: https://www.kinjodumbo.com/
David Liu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davdliu
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