Haslam College of Business - Yoshi Momoki: The VFL Behind Tokyo’s Good Ole Tennessee Bar

For most tourists, walking into a bar two kilometers from Tokyo Station would not feel like coming home. For but for the Tennesseans and University of Tennessee, Knoxville, alumni who find their way to Good Ole Tennessee Bar, Tokyo ends up feeling just like Rocky Top. Yoshi Momoki (UT, ’93), the bar’s owner, built his business around a simple idea: Connection is worth traveling for.

Vol Spirit Goes Global

Momoki returned to campus in September as a featured guest in UT’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation‘s Signature Speaker series, sharing his entrepreneurial story with students in lecturer Tory Kinson’s undergraduate international business class. His visit gave students a firsthand look at what it means to turn a passion for into a global enterprise.

“One of the best parts of my class is when I have a guest speaker that can bring some of the concepts from the book into real life,” Kinson said. “Yoshi’s entrepreneurial spirit showed my students yet another international business pathway besides working for a multinational company. He capitalized on a different selling point and it’s becoming a must-see stop for travelers.”

After more than two decades as a marketer for home appliance companies, Momoki decided to build a business of his own following a loss in his family. In 2019, he set out to open a bar honoring the university and state he loves. It took nearly five years of preparation before Good Ole Tennessee Bar opened in February 2024, a process that taught him a lesson he shared with students.

“It’s easy to open a business, but it’s much harder to keep it running,” he said.

Part of Good Ole Tennessee Bar’s staying power comes from Momoki understanding his client base. Today, roughly 70 percent of the bar’s customers are from the U.S., and 85 percent to 90 percent of those connect back to Tennessee. His Instagram following has grown past 22,000, turning his bar into a destination for Vols traveling through Japan. Visitors have included UT System President Randy Boyd, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, UT Chancellor Donde Plowman and Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon, who named Momoki an honorary owner and citizen of Knoxville.

Mission-Driven Business

According to Momoki, what sets his bar apart is the mission, not the drinks.

“My bar’s core value is the exchange of memories,” he said.

Where many restaurants build loyalty around signature dishes, Momoki built his around shared identity and belonging, giving fellow Vols a piece of home in the middle of Tokyo.

During his visit to Kinson’s class, Momoki outlined his entrepreneurial philosophy, explaining that sustainable businesses exist at the intersection of what a founder wants to do, what that founder is capable of doing and what the market needs. He also identified three traits he considers essential for any founder: determination, commitment and passion.

When asked what keeps him tethered to Tennessee from across the globe, Momoki did not hesitate.

“That’s a place that I feel I belonged,” he said.

For the Vols who walk through his doors, and the students who heard his story firsthand in September, that feeling is exactly the point.

Reflecting on Momoki’s visit, Anderson Center director Shawn White said the alum’s story is exactly why the center brings entrepreneurs into the classroom.

“Students can read about market fit and persistence in a textbook, but hearing a UT alum describe building a business seven thousand miles away — one still rooted entirely in Tennessee pride — makes those lessons real,” said White. “It shows our students that the Volunteer network is something you can build a life around, anywhere in the world.”

About the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation:

The Anderson Center, housed in UT’s Haslam College of Business, is the front door to entrepreneurship at UT. It connects Volunteers with expertise, resources and collaborators at UT and across the regional ecosystem to advance ideas, tackle bold challenges and turn entrepreneurial ambition into results. At the Anderson Center, Volunteers are empowered to identify opportunities and take bold action to create value through new ventures.

For more information and upcoming events, visit the Anderson Center event page.

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Author:

Allison Kelly, Anderson Center director of marketing, [email protected]

Contact:

Leah McAmis, assistant director of communications, [email protected]