Since 1986, Kokoro has built a loyal following of diners who love Japanese food, want it authentic, affordable, quick and easy. Kokoro, with two locations in Denver and in Arvada, was “fast casual” before the term became a business model for chains like Chipotle and Noodles & Company.

This year, Kokoro celebrates its 40th birthday as a popular pillar of Denver’s Japanese dining scene. It is a reliable destination for loyal diners who want real, legit Japanese cuisine in a relaxed setting (or from a drive-through window) at an affordable price. 

But, most of its fans may not know that Kokoro, a family-run business, has roots that are even older than four decades, and in fact, reaches back to 1899 and the establishment of a gyudon, or beef bowl, restaurant named Yoshinoya in Japan.

Yoshinoya began as a street food concept, selling thin-sliced marinated beef and onions over rice to laborers for a quick meal. In the postwar 1950s, it expanded into a chain that would go on to dominate Japan’s beef bowl market, with nearly 1,200 locations across the country. Yoshinoya expanded into the U.S. in 1973 and established its headquarters near downtown Denver. Just two years later, in 1975, Yoshinoya opened its first Colorado restaurant at Colfax and Logan.

Although Yoshinoya opened several more Denver locations by the mid-1980s the company had pulled out of the state. Today, there are still over a hundred Yoshinoya restaurants left in America, but mostly in California.  

Yoshinoya’s legacy in Denver is Kokoro, which took over the vacant Colorado Boulevard location in 1986. The man who opened it, Mareo Torito, came from Japan and had been the manager of Yoshinoya’s Denver operation. He married a woman who was a server at Yoshinoya and stayed in Colorado when the company left for California. 

Torito later opened Kokoro, which means “heart” in Japanese and built it into its own successful operation, eventually expanding to a second location in Arvada. Today, the restaurants are run by his son, Masaru, while Mareo leads a broader family enterprise that includes RedBird Farms.

Founded in 1949 and acquired by Torito in 1990, RedBird Farms has become a powerhouse brand known for its high-quality chicken, raised without antibiotics or steroids, and fed a vegetarian diet in a cage-free environment. The company supplies both restaurants and major supermarket chains like King Soopers and Safeway. In a news report, Torito noted that RedBird accounts for approximately 40% of Colorado’s chicken market.

Masaru, Torito’s son, reflects on his father’s ambition: “He never expected RedBird to get so big, but I believe he wanted it to reach a scale where it could compete with the industry’s biggest players. In my words, he aimed to be a predator in the ocean, even if he never saw himself as a ‘big fish.’”

Kokoro is not a big fish in the restaurant scene, but it’s doing just fine, thank you. Celebrating 40 years is no small feat, and for its anniversary, a new item was added to the menu: Miso-Teriyaki Japanese Chicken Wings, made with RedBird chicken coated with a spicy-sweet miso-teriyaki garlic glaze sprinkled with sesame seeds. 

Over the decades, Torito has added plenty of items to the menu, from its beef and chicken and veggie bowls to tasty ramen dishes. Traditional udon noodles are served under the modern name “Splash,” while yakisoba fried noodles carry the playful moniker “Sobaghetti.” The menu also features beef and chicken curry, seafood rice bowls with unagi eel, salmon, and shrimp tempura, as well as Hawaiian-style poke bowls. Last year, the restaurant even added handmade onigiri rice balls to its sushi selection.

Masaru was just six years old when his dad launched Kokoro, but he has since helped guide the business while expanding its visibility through participation in community events such as the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival and Mile High Asian Food Week. He has also been known for his generosity in providing discounted meals to Asian and Japanese community organizations throughout the Denver area. Today, Kokoro is widely recognized within the Japanese American community and has built a loyal following among fans of Japanese cuisine across Colorado.

He credits the customers’ loyalty and growth of the business to the consistent quality of the food. While few staff members at either location are Japanese, the menu has long been prepared for years through a shared commissary kitchen. Until recently, the kitchen was overseen by a Japanese chef who has since retired, alongside a Latina assistant chef who has been with the company since 1999.

That attention to efficiency and consistency are hallmarks of the company’s roots in Yoshinoya and the lasting influence of the elder Torito.

“The two of them worked in the commissary space, so all of our vegetables, for example, are cut by two people,” Torito explains. “It’s about 1,000 pounds of hand-cut vegetables every week, done by the same two people for the last 20 years, and we split it to both stores. That’s how you maintain consistency. It’s the same with the sauces. Two people make the curry and teriyaki sauce, and the same two people prepare the broths. That consistency makes a difference.”

Another hallmark of Kokoro has been its commitment to employees, from chefs to front-of-house staff. Su Hsu, who has worked as a server at the Arvada location for 26 years, says she has always been treated like family, by staff and the diners.

“The customers treat me very nice,” she says. “And the owners too. Just everybody is so nice to me. I feel like Kokoro is a part of a bigger family here for me.” She explains she came from Taiwan with two children and a bleak future, but she waves to the staff in the restaurant and adds, “but then you guys are like a big family for me.”

She knows many customers by name and always treats everyone with a smile and an upbeat attitude.

Having such dedicated and reliable employees has given the Torito family confidence that Kokoro can continue thriving despite the challenges of the turbulent restaurant industry. “I’ve had really good general managers at both stores, and the long-standing staff helps too,” Masaru says.

It allows him the freedom to dream of the company’s future, working with his dad and his staff. He had been developing a ghost kitchen concept in Aurora, but put the idea on hold after he and his wife welcomed their second child. 

He’s still scoping out possible locations for another Kokoro, focusing on areas that would complement rather than compete with the existing restaurants. A savvy restaurateur and entrepreneur, he is active in hospitality industry organizations and closely follows emerging trends, including the growing role of AI in the food service industry.

As Kokoro celebrates this 40-year milestone, the celebration is not just a look back at a remarkable legacy, but a toast to continued growth.

Learn more about Kokoro at: 
kokororestaurants.com