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A curious Kemby's patron, attempting to define the story of Kevin Nanna,
an American slumped over the bar, concentrating on the latest sports blurb and his
chicken parmesan, might wrap him up in this package:
A professional student,
possibly graduate, who revels in discussing great sports plays and chugging down a
good lager.
An accurate assessment? (BUZZ!) Think again.
On this rare occasion that Nanna, Kemby's co-owner, is doing such things, I happen
to be the patron, or rather the interviewer.
The sun still beams outside and the restaurant-bar isn't officially open for
business yet. When the sun descends, Nanna, a man known more by the name of his bar
than by his birth name, will forfeit a simple fantasy and retreat to the throes of
behind-the-bar servitude.
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"This is the perfect place that I'd like to hang out," he said. "But, it's
ironic, I can't do that here."
At 6 pm, the doors to the "sports bar-and-grill-feel" establishment open, and
greetings of "Irrasshaimase" flood Kemby's airspace. To Nanna, that space is his
heaven, a dream that he conceived back in his high school days.
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"This is it," he said, pointing to the wooden tables and hand-painted stage backdrop.
In high school, I knew that this is what I wanted to do and I designed the layout
then."
He pats the bar, like it's a well-behaved pup. "It's my big baby."
His baby it may be, but one that has matured to be a hotspot for Japanese and foreigners
alike. Those who frequent the bar undoubtedly have noticed him: the blond-haired
foreigner behind the bar, who is constantly assisting customers or fielding inquiries
from the staff.
"He's really funny,"Mika Kuwamoto, one of the servers, said. "During Halloween,
he wore these funny glasses and big teeth. He's nice and kind. Sometimes he can
be strict, but he's a good boss."
Steering the wheel of Kemby's wasn't Nanna's first encounter with management. In
his home state of Michigan, he managed a small copy center that his father owned.
Complacency would have dictated that he stick with the job, but the reality of
dissatisfaction kicked in and he decided to return to Japan.
Yes, that's right. He had been in the land of the rising sun before. Prior to the
copy center position and during his college years in 1991, Nanna took part in a
work-study program, where he worked on a Michigan boat in Shiga Prefecture. The
prefecture is the sister state to Michigan.
"Everyone had black hair and brown eyes," he said of the initial culture shock.
"Tatami mats and everything else...it was a little overwhelming at first."
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| The Vitals |
| Name: |
Kevin Nanna |
| Age: |
30 |
| Birth sign: |
Virgo
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| Married/Single: |
Single
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| Fave food: |
Mexican
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| Pet Peeve: |
Tardiness for anything
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| What do you treasure most in Japan? |
Friends and customers
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| What do you treasure most in your home country? |
Family, friends and Taco Bell
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| What do you value most in yourself? |
Hardworking and usually friendly
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| What do you deplore in yourself? |
Certain indecisiveness
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| Thing's we'd find if we peered in your fridge right now: |
Mountain Dew, Beer and Juice
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| What you're most often found saying: |
Irashaimasse! and Arigato Gozaimasu!
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| Something a little secretive that would make us feel special to know: |
I'm a little shy outside Kemby's
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| Where will you be in 10 years? |
I have no idea!
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| A fantasy |
At home in the US, Japan and the Hawaiian Islands
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| How do feel about being selected for GetHiroshima's "Who's Who"? |
Flattered
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One would never notice the fear nowadays. His Japanese, which he actually honed back in the states, greets new customers just as effortlessly as his English.
The work-study program lasted nine months, and a few years later after finishing school and working back home, he returned to teach English in Hiroshima. A part-time job at a coffee house, a stint with his now-defunct band "Yaki Noodles," and a series of negotiations later, Kemby's was born. Nanna merged his first name Kevin and his best friend's nickname, Gumby, a popular American toy figure, to form his signature creation.
And so his dream is this: being able to wake up at 11 am each day, suck down a Mountain Dew, crank up Metallica, arrive at the Kemby's office at around 12:30 pm and head over to the bar at 3:30 pm. After hours, he sneaks away to his favorite hiding spots, where he chats with friends and drinks 'till about 4 am.
"Outside of Kemby's, I'm a shy person, but here I'm the king of my own house," he said. "It's always been about a simple life, and doing what I want to do. I have a two-kilometer radius that I thrive in, and I don't leave it unless I leave the country."
And at the end of November, that's just what he did: he ventured out of his border to tropical paradise Hawaii. Nanna, who punches in the hours with a time-consuming creation on one hand, but then wallows in a realization of a dream on the other, is grateful for what he has.
"I haven't changed at all as a person in the last five years," he said. "I'm the same person I was then, I'm just not in debt anymore."
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