Steve Yamamoto | Founder

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Steve Yamamoto, an Anaheim resident, opened Tabi-Ji Restaurant in Anaheim at 2806 West Ball Road at the corner of Ball Road and Dale Street in 1972 with his father Toshio Yamamoto, and brother, Sam Yamamoto. The restaurant was the largest privately owned Japanese restaurant in the city for many years. It was located next door to the Toyo Fish Market and across Ball Road from the Pear Tree Center and the Orange County Buddhist Church.

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Tabi-ji had a tatami room and sushi bar along with its regular dining area. It was open six days a week and closed on Wednesdays. Lunch and dinner menus were very reasonable and sometimes you might see a movie star dining in the evenings there. Their combination plates were exceptional since you had a variety of delicious cooked items as part of the meal. The restaurant was also great for a late night snack if you wanted to get a bowl of noodles or a bowl of donburi.

 

After opening in 1972, the restaurant was always busy and locals frequented this establishment as the place to go in Anahiem for special occasions and a place to have a family meal. Leaving his father and brother to operate the Tabi-ji Restaurant in 1975, Steve Yamamoto opened his new venture, the Shiki Restaurant, at 1936 East Katella Avenue in Orange.

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The original Tabi-Ji Restaurant closed in 1998, and Steve Yamamoto decided to open the second generation of the restaurant at 665 North Tustin Street in Orange in 2014. Another successful venture for him, he added four teppanyaki tables to this restaurant and enjoys seeing new generations of his old customers come in and eat at his new establishment.