Stand Brings Tokyo Kissaten Culture and Handmade Sandos to Coral Gables

Stand opened in Coral Gables on June 4 from chef Shingo Akikuni and partner Kenzie Motai, bringing a Japanese kissaten format that's still rare in South Florida. A kissaten is a traditional Japanese café built around coffee, light food, and an unhurried pace, and Stand's daytime menu leans into that with handmade sandos, the crustless Japanese sandwiches built on soft milk bread.

A cafe that plans to become two restaurants

Stand's current identity is daytime-only, but that's meant as a first chapter rather than the full concept. Akikuni and Motai have an evening izakaya planned to launch in the same space later, which would turn Stand into a restaurant with two entirely different personalities depending on when a guest walks in: a quiet café by day, a Japanese small-plates bar by night.

What's on the menu now

The current daytime program centers on sandos, built on pillowy milk bread and filled with everything from katsu to seasonal vegetables, alongside coffee and other café staples. It's a lighter, faster format than a full sit-down restaurant, suited to a quick lunch as easily as a slower afternoon coffee break.

Why it matters

Coral Gables has absorbed a run of ambitious openings this year, but most of them are dinner-focused. Stand fills a different gap: a genuine daytime destination with a specific, well-executed niche, and the promise of an entirely different evening concept once the izakaya phase launches.