In 1985 we opened Knuckles, a small cafe and sandwich shop in North Kyoto. The menu was a list of the foods I most missed from home. These included New York deli sandwiches, my family’s Italian American home cooking, and notably my mother’s New York cheesecake.

It turned out that I was not the only homesick expat in Kyoto, and Knuckles became a haven for resident and traveling foreigners longing for “a taste of home.” New York cheesecake was the most popular item on our menu and in October 1990, exactly five years after starting Knuckles, we opened Papa Jon’s our first cheesecake specialty café.

Now as we enter our 30th year in business we have three Papa Jon’s Cafés. A continually evolving cake repertoire, and plans for the future.

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