Yopparai and Izakaya Ronin are both owned and operated by the husband-and-wife team of Gaku and Christy Shibata and their dedicated staff including long-time chefs from Japan. Founded in 2012, Yopparai has been setting trends on the Lower East Side of NYC for over a decade, eventually inspiring the launch of Izakaya Ronin on the same block in 2023.  Residing both in Brooklyn and in upstate NY, Gaku and Christy now also offer off-site services including catering, pop-up events and cooking workshops in the Catskills region.