Umami Curry: An American Dream Come True
At the height of the global pandemic, when most restaurants were fighting for survival, Gus Budayana left his popular food truck behind and took over the lease on a brick and mortar location for his restaurant Umami Curry. “If you wait for perfect timing, you’ll never do anything,” he says. Originally from Bali in Indonesia, Budayana came to America to scout out a better future for his family after the birth of his first child. “Back home, we make enough money to eat for the day. But here, there’s opportunity to make extra for a house and a business.”
When Budayana arrived in Florida, he took a job in a kitchen. He spent the next decade cooking, mostly in sushi and hibachi restaurants. In 2017, he purchased a food truck and went to work for himself. Umami Hibachi and Sushi built a loyal following, based not only on the food but Budayana’s customer service, which he prides himself on. Budayana is a strong proponent of networking. Always looking to learn, he loves collaborating with other chefs. His practice of networking would ultimately save his business.
Taking his hibachi and sushi concept from food truck to restaurant proved more challenging than Budayana anticipated. On the food truck, he’d serve maybe 60 people a night. They’d stagger through at a manageable pace. At the restaurant, there could be 40 people in the dining room at once. Unable to find employees during a national labor shortage, Budayana found himself scrambling to keep up, with only his wife to help. “People were waiting an hour to get their food. We started getting one-star reviews,” says Budayana.
Desperate to keep his business afloat, Budayana reached out to peers. Chef Levi Broadwell of Karai Ramen Bistro came to the rescue, encouraging Budayana to abandon his menu and reopen as a Japanese curry shop. With curry, a lot of the work can be done ahead of time, allowing for a smoother service.
Born and raised in Indonesia, Budayana is no stranger to curry. Indonesian and Japanese curries are made with similar spices and aromatics. But the Japanese version is toned down, to accommodate a milder pallet. “In Indonesia, we love a deep, strong flavor,” Budayana says. His scratch-made curries come in mild, medium or spicy. The mild is a traditional Japanese curry, while the spicy is modeled after the foods he grew up eating in Bali.
Always looking to push the Jacksonville food scene further, Broadwell was thrilled Budayana was introducing the city to something as novel as Japanese curry. But it wasn’t easy getting people to try something new. “The first month of curry, we had a lot of downtime,” Budayana says. During the slow days, Broadwell would call to offer encouragement. When Budayana decided to add ramen to his menu to help draw in more business, Broadwell invited him to come work at Karai, telling Budayana “If you want to learn ramen, I don’t mind showing you how we do it.”
With the addition of ramen, Budayana’s business really started to take off. He remains close friends with Broadwell and, humbly, credits him with helping Umami find its footing. “Chef Levi’s been a real good mentor in business and, I would say, my personal life as well,” he says.
Ready to sample some of Chef Gus's dishes? Head over to Umami Curry, 11701 San Jose Blvd, Ste 23, Jacksonville, FL | (904) 677-4780.
