Sakaya — Local services in New York

Looking to learn about sake? Go to Sakaya.

Looking to impress a Japanese coworker with a gift? Go to Sakaya.

Looking for sake glassware? Literature? Go to Sakaya.

This tiny store has it all.

When you're the only game in town, it's easy to rest on your laurels. Sakaya has been the only premier saka-ya (sake shop) in NYC for 4 years now. Their elegant, yet simple interior is a shrine to sake. From affordable "introductory" sakes to high end premium, they have something for everyone.

The husband and wife team who run the shop know their sake like nobody's business. They curate their selection without bowing to the whims of their distributors. To keep on top of their game, they take frequent trips to Japan to learn even more.

Their shochu selection is also growing along with American interest in the spirit, and their selection of these spirits is also well curated, though much more limited.

You can find cheaper sake elsewhere, but you can't find this combination of selection and knowledge anywhere else in the area. It's worth a stop even if just to browse, but beware, if you show up during one of their frequent weekend tastings you may end up coming home with a...

Some tips from one specialty retailer to another:

Greet your customers when they enter. In a place this small it has got to be some effort to ignore them, especially when no one else is even in the store. Don't sneer at their requests, even if you feel they could be more sophisticated in their tastes. Proactively work on improving the customer, but /never/ demean them. Listen to your customer. In my case, if they ask for a selection totaling $100 and you offer them $120 worth of stuff, they will assume you are offering it for $100. Don't get offended and preachy if they make that assumption. Don't whine about how long you've been at work. You're an entrepreneur, not a clerk. Do not make prejudiced remarks to your customer, even if it is fashionable among your friends to do so. If a customer sends a follow up email with a question about their purchase, don't ignore it. People will only tolerate being insulted so much.

I'll grant I have some strong opinions on customer service, but I feel you really need to do better in the customer service department.

Best of...

I wish I could give this store more stars. You won't find a bette selection but you better know what you want because the employees aren't there to help. My wife and I drove down to Boston and one of the main reasons was this store and decibel. We were so excited to go to this store and were ready to buy a lot of sake. The employees however did not want to interact with us or the couple that walked in right before us. When I did finally get the employee to talk to us but he was very disengaged. When I told him I ran a store in Cambridge Ma and had a great selection of sake he cared even less. When I could not remember an importer that we both use (New York mutual trading) he acted like I didnt know what I was talking about. I was so excited and after I was so let down. I would have loved to know what the two of them liked but they were too snobby to take time out of day for us. We bought three bottles and spent a decent amount of money but had they just spent a little time with us we would have bought 6 if not more bottles. I really came ready to spend money but now I'm not even sure...