C3 (Creating Culinary Communities), a revolutionary food and beverage platform by CEO and founder Sam Nazarian, is expanding offerings of its wildly popular delivery-focused restaurant brands with the introduction of Japanese-inspired nori taco and sushi concept Kumi. The first of ten C3 culinary concepts to debut this year, Kumi joins Krispy Rice, Umami Burger and Sam’s Crispy Chicken as trademarks of C3’s rapidly expanding food empire.
Launching this week, Kumi is currently available for delivery in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa, Oakland and Chicago with additional locations opening nationwide in the months to come. A full-service brick-and-mortar Kumi location will open inside Le Méridien New York, Central Park on 57th Street this summer alongside forthcoming C3 café concept EllaMia.
Conceived by Chief Culinary Officer Martin Heierling as the brotherly comparison brand to C3’s popular Krispy Rice, Kumi offers shareable Japanese-style street food made for the modern palate and served in sleek carbon-neutral takeaway containers. Menu highlights include ikura nori tacos, sesame tuna temaki, chuka seaweed salad, chirashi bowls and plant-based truffle avocado onigiri. Bento boxes feature flavorful samplers of tamaki, onigiri, nori tacos and rolls and take decidedly playful names such as the “Stay Calm, Kumi” box.
“Kumi is a testament to C3’s success in creating demand for inventive food delivery options that thoughtfully recreate the dine-in experience,” says Sam Nazarian, CEO and founder of C3. “As consumer preferences continue to evolve, our omnichannel approach to launching memorable culinary brands continues to demonstrate the value of connecting with customers in both virtual and physical spaces.”
Kumi will service the following high-demand markets across the country: Southern California (Los Angeles, Venice, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Glendale, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Irvine, San Diego), Northern California (San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Mateo, San Jose, Walnut Creek, Santa Clara, Rancho Cordova), New York City, Miami, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, Ann Arbor and Tempe.
Kumi is available for delivery and pickup via CITIZENS GO, C3’s proprietary new app that allows diners to conveniently order from multiple C3 restaurant brands like Umami Burger, Krispy Rice and Sam’s Crispy Chicken in one single cart. Those who download and order Kumi through CITIZENS GO will receive a complimentary Crispy Shrimp Nori Taco with promo code FREEKUMI on orders $15 and over (limit one free item per customer).
CITIZENS GO is currently available in Los Angeles and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play and will soon expand to other cities nationwide. Kumi can also be ordered on major delivery platforms including Postmates, UberEats, Doordash and GrubHub.
Forthcoming C3 concepts launching later this summer include collaborations with internationally celebrated chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Dani Garcia, Katsuya Uechi and Jose Icardi who will transform Michelin-starred restaurants into proprietary C3 culinary brands with nationwide reach.
