Kata Nori

Kata Nori Hand Roll Bar is Kansas City’s first temaki-focused sushi bar, at 404 E 18th St in the East Crossroads of Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in September 2023 by three childhood Kansas City friends — majority owner Nam Phan, executive chef Anh “Bass” Pham (a Uchi Houston veteran), and Kyung “KK” Kim — the restaurant serves high-end hand rolls (temaki): nori cones rolled to order, served intact and eaten by hand, around a roughly 24-seat U-shaped sushi bar. It is independent and locally owned. A second, larger location is in development in Overland Park, Kansas (4929 W 119th St, the former André’s Confiserie Suisse space), with a soft launch targeted for early summer 2026.¹²³⁴

Description

Kata Nori Hand Roll Bar is a temaki-focused sushi restaurant in the East Crossroads. A hand roll, or temaki, is made by wrapping a sheet of nori into a cone and filling it with sushi rice and a mix of raw and cooked fish, seafood, and fresh vegetables.¹ Rather than using a sushi mat to form a roll that is then sliced, hand rolls are rolled by hand and served intact; diners pick them up whole and bite directly from the cone-shaped wrapper.² Until Kata Nori opened, Kansas City had no sushi restaurant devoted solely to the art of the hand roll — the restaurant is widely described in the local press as KC’s first hand-roll bar.¹²³

The restaurant is built around a roughly 24-seat U-shaped bar as its primary dining space, emphasizing a social, shareable atmosphere over traditional table seating.² Co-owner Kyung Kim framed the concept this way: “We know sushi is a fun, shareable style of dining. We want to embrace that laid-back, social experience but also bring Kansas City sushi into an upscale, fine-dining atmosphere.”²

Ownership and history

Period	Operator / milestone
2023	Three childhood Kansas City friends — Nam Phan (majority owner), chef Anh “Bass” Pham, and Kyung “KK” Kim — develop Kata Nori as KC’s first hand-roll bar, taking the East Crossroads space at 404 E 18th St123
Sept 18, 2023	Soft opening3
Sept 28, 2023	Grand opening3
Dec 2025	André’s Confiserie Suisse closes its 119th St location in Overland Park (end of December), freeing the space Kata Nori would take4
2026	Second Kata Nori location announced for 4929 W 119th St, Overland Park, KS — a ~2,800 sq ft space (larger than the Crossroads original) with a ~20-seat sushi bar, ~20-seat dining room, and a cocktail bar; soft launch targeted early summer 2026, grand opening mid-summer 202654
Present	Crossroads location open and active5

Kata Nori is independent and locally owned, with no corporate parent.¹³ The three owners are described across local coverage as childhood friends who grew up in the Kansas City area.¹³ Chef Anh “Bass” Pham previously worked at Uchi, a top sushi restaurant in Houston, Texas — experience the owners cite as the inspiration for bringing that caliber of sushi to Kansas City.²

One widely repeated detail in early coverage holds that majority owner Nam Phan is connected to Sao Mai, a Vietnamese restaurant on Independence Avenue said to have been owned and operated by his parents. This appears in roundup coverage but was not confirmed in the primary feature sources reviewed on this pass. on the Sao Mai / Phan-family connection.

Some early roundup coverage also lists Jennifer Vu among the partners alongside Phan, Pham, and Kim. The two most detailed feature sources name the three principals (Phan, Pham, Kim); Vu’s role and current involvement are not confirmed here. on the full partner roster.

Links

• Website: https://www.katanorikc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katanorikc/
• Phone: (913) 909-3954 — listed on the official Kata Nori website for the Crossroads location.⁵ NOTE: the seed audit flagged this number as likely wrong because it is a 913 (Kansas/Johnson County) area code on a KCMO address. In fact it is the number Kata Nori publishes on its own site, so it is treated as verified; the 913/KCMO mismatch is explained by the owners’ Johnson County ties and the forthcoming Overland Park (KS) location, not an error.

See also

• crossroads-arts-district
• Registry

Sources

Footnotes

1. IN Kansas City Magazine, “Kata Nori Hand Roll Bar is Coming to the East Crossroads” — describes the temaki/hand-roll concept; owners Nam Phan, Anh “Bass” Pham, Kyung Kim as KC natives; KC’s first restaurant focused solely on the hand roll; references to the partners and the Phan family / Sao Mai. https://www.inkansascity.com/eat-drink/news/kata-nori-hand-roll-bar-is-coming-to-the-east-crossroads/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

2. The Pitch, “Sleight of Hand: Kata Nori is rolling out high-end sushi in the heart of the Crossroads” (Oct 3, 2023) — address 404 E 18th St, KC MO 64108; three co-owners grew up in KC (Nam Phan, majority owner; Anh “Bass” Pham, exec chef; Kyung Kim); Bass’s Uchi (Houston) background; 24-seat U-shaped bar; hand rolls served intact; Kim quote on upscale/shareable concept. https://www.thepitchkc.com/sleight-of-hand-kata-nori-is-rolling-out-high-end-sushi-in-the-heart-of-the-crossroads/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Kansas City Magazine, “Coming to the East Crossroads: KC’s first hand rolled sushi bar” — KC’s first hand-roll bar; owners chef Anh Pham, Nam Phan, Kyung Kim as childhood KC friends; soft opening Sept 18, 2023, grand opening Sept 28, 2023. https://kansascitymag.com/coming-to-the-east-crossroads-kcs-first-hand-rolled-sushi-bar/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

4. Kansas City Magazine, “Kata Nori Is Opening A Second Location. Here’s What We Know.” — second location at 4929 W 119th St, Overland Park, KS; ~2,800 sq ft; ~20-seat sushi bar plus ~20-seat dining room and cocktail bar (40–50 capacity); taking over the former André’s Confiserie Suisse space (closed end of December); owners Kyung “KK” Kim, Nam Phan, chef Anh “Bass” Pham; soft launch early summer 2026, grand opening mid-summer 2026. https://kansascitymag.com/kata-nori-is-opening-a-second-location-heres-what-we-know/ ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Kata Nori — official website, Locations page: Crossroads at 404 E 18th St, KC MO 64108, phone (913) 909-3954, with hours; Overland Park at 4929 W 119th St, Overland Park, KS 66209 “Coming Soon,” soft launch early summer 2026. https://www.katanorikc.com/locations ↩ ↩² ↩³