A New Dining Era: The chefs of Tulsa’s Et Al. collective forge ahead with Natsukashii
After three years of pop-up service out of a local coffee shop, the award-winning multi-concept chef collective Et Al. is set to open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in downtown Tulsa. Named after a Japanese term that describes the feeling of nostalgia through a sensory experience — most often from food — Natsukashii is on track to redefine modern Japanese cuisine.
PHOTOGRAPH BY HENRY NINDE | @H.NINDE
Almost every week since the beginning of 2022, the Et Al. team has operated high-level and creative food concept pop-ups out of Foolish Things Coffee Company, creating a loyal community and attracting a cult-like following in the culinary world of Tulsa and beyond. Each project under the Et Al. umbrella has been spearheaded by one of the members of the collective, resulting in a diverse rotation of excellent food served with warm hospitality. Their list of projects includes fan favorites like Dumpling Night, Japanese Breakfast, Bischix, Butter Bar, et al. Dinner Series and Taqueria et al.
By holding true to their core values including full profit distribution and equal pay, the team believes that they can work collaboratively to build a more delicious and equitable future for the food and beverage industry in Tulsa.
“I think we’ve always done hospitality well. Like truly, open-handedly caring for people,” says longtime team member Sam Luna. “Now bringing that to a new space with a bigger staff, my real focus will be cultivating that, and building on what's special and teaching it — knowing people’s names and actually, authentically connecting with guests. I’m really trying to grow and focus that, and lean into community building to become a place for people to gather and feel at home. Building from the ground up, we can really level up our service, but maintain our warmth and genuine hospitality.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY HENRY NINDE | @H.NINDE
Many members of their team have continued to achieve great success after departing the collective. “Alex Koch is the head chef at Tina’s, Marco Herrera is the executive chef at Noche, Jeremiah Rankin started Solaire, Noah Eagan-Rowe is leading The Aviary and The Office in Chicago — so in general, people are going on to do amazing things. It feels impossible to deny that something about [this model] makes people different and better than they were when they were just an hourly worker,” says Et Al. co-founder Colin Sato.
“We don’t have a ton of resources, but I really do feel like we’ve landed somewhere between a good community and people who can vouch for the fact that we’ve really been trying hard as hell since they’ve ever known us.” Or as he likes to say, “we travel light.”
Natsukashii was created by Sato, alongside fellow co-founder (and life partner) Chloe Butter, and Luna. This trio shares an exceptional balance of cultural influences; vast skillsets and know-how; and an overall aligned vision on how to bring this dream to life.
“I don’t know how else to describe this concept besides [Japanese] homestyle. It’s not an omakase (a chef’s choice dining concept); It’s a meal that is basically structured around how Japanese families usually eat — you always have rice, pickles, miso soup. And then usually a menu will include dishes of different kinds of preparations, like a little something fried, a little something raw, a little something pickled, something off the grill, something simmered. We’re still playing with it, but the idea is to offer a very affordable set menu where you can come in and eat this big, beautiful, varied spread of all these homestyle Japanese foods.
“I don’t want to just try to make this, like, historical food; I don’t want to just recreate the past. I really want to represent what food really is to me and to our team.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY TAYLOR MAE VILL ARREAL | @TAYLORRMA AEE
PHOTOGRAPH BY TAYLOR MAE VILL ARREAL | @TAYLORRMA AEE
“I think we’ve always done hospitality well. Like, truly, open-handedly caring for people.”
Regarding the new menu as an evolution of what has been offered at prior concepts, Butter adds, “I think we’ve already been baby-stepping people into this type of cuisine — of things that will be a more traditional style of eating like a piece of fish with some pickles and rice for breakfast. Or, if that’s really not your thing, you can still get a donut, you can get a croissant, choose from all different danishes and things that are very familiar format, even if they have little Japanese twists on them. There’s going to be something for everyone, and if not, there’s a lot of other great options for breakfast. We want to cover all of our bases.”
From operating solely as a pop-up to now having their own kitchen, the consistency and capacity they are able to serve comes with a sigh of relief. “This opportunity is just incredible,” says Luna. “Being in the Gradient building and having that captive audience. And having a place for the community we have built, who have since become friends, to be there regularly— not just once a week or occasionally on the weekends. To have a real center for the community to grow and thrive is what gets me really excited.”
Natsukashii has been a dream Sato has been journaling about for years. “It’s been really cool to reflect on the really, really early days when we had, like, no money, no following … it really felt like we were starting from nothing.” Coming to fruition next Summer of 2025, Natsukashii will be located in the Gradient building, formerly known as 36ºN (36 Degrees North) near downtown Tulsa at 12 N. Cheyenne Ave. It should be the kind of experience diners will instantly be nostalgic for.
To stay up to date on their journey, as well as find ways to support the Et Al. team during this time, follow them on Instagram at @etal.tulsa, @natsukashii.tulsa, or online at etaltulsa.com.