Beloved Burnaby Japanese restaurant is closing its doors after 20 years

After 20 years of serving the Burnaby community and the Robert Nimi Nikkei Home, Hi Genki Japanese Restaurant is closing its doors.

“Unfortunately we have been unable to open for public dine-in ever since COVID started and that was a large part of our sales,” said Megan Matsuda, General Manager of Hi Genki in an interview with the Beacon.

Reflecting on their time in Burnaby, Matsuda said, “We have absolutely enjoyed operating in Burnaby, especially being part of Robert Nimi Nikkei Home. The home, which is part of the Nikkei Centre, is a huge part of the Japanese community here in the Lower Mainland.”

Japanese homestyle cooking is Hi Genki’s specialty and they offer many different delicious meals like their Spicy Karaage Don, Pork Katsu Curry, and Red Bean Donuts. The restaurant is closed for dine-in but is still accepting orders for takeout until April 30, and people are lining up to get one last order of spicy karaage before the restaurant closes.

“We are trying to take as many orders as we can in our final week,” said Matsuda, who also said the amount of orders they’ve received since announcing the closure has gone up by 300%.

The restaurant will remain in the Robert Nimi Nikkei Home until the end of July, which is when the home will be taking over food operations for residents. But, on their website, the restaurant promises “This isn’t a goodbye but a goodbye for now.”

“It’s been an honour to serve the public and have them be introduced to Japanese homestyle cooking,” said Matsuda. “We will miss all the amazing customers whom we made many great relationships with.”

Be sure to visit Hi Genki Japanese Restaurant before April 30 to enjoy some authentic Japanese homestyle cooking.

Hi Genki Japanese Restaurant

Address: 6680 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby