Photographs by Keessa Lynch
It’s easy to walk into Kome Yogurt, grab a drink, and leave without noticing the details behind the store, literally. In addition to the brand’s attention to ingredients, Kome Yogurt is also the hiding spot for After Seven, a Japanese-inspired speakeasy that you can enter only with the right passcode or branded token.
Besides crafting and keeping secrets, what’s impressive at this multi-concept store is the equal amount of thought that goes behind both spaces, from research and experimentation to precise execution.
“Everything we sell, it’s been tested a thousand times,” says founder Andy Shi.
When Kome first started in the summer of 2021, the idea was to introduce Asian flavours, including grains and fruits, through the universal medium of yogurt. In the spirit of experimentation, the team first dipped their toes in the market with a food truck, rolling through the GTA as Canada’s first “yogurt on wheels.”
Taking their learnings forward, they continued to improve their products and process through trial and error, eventually gathering enough confidence and preparation for their first brick-and-mortar store.
The Kome Yogurt that now stands on Queen W. and McCaul is the culmination of 8 months of research and experimentation. From the yogurt-making flow to the types of spoons used by the baristas, the setup at this new store has been thoroughly optimized for efficiency and consistent quality.
The Yogurt
With a menu designed to put Asian flavours in the spotlight, the Kome Yogurt team knew they had to produce a championing yogurt that could stand strong on its own and complement their exotic ingredients at the same time.
Blending a house-made plain yogurt with Taiwanese oats—which are more aromatic and form-holding—Kome’s signature “oats yogurt” neutralizes the natural acidity of yogurt with the earthiness of oats for a light and sippable drink.
However, these Taiwanese oats are still only secondary to the work that goes behind their house-made plain yogurt, which has been thoroughly tried and tested for sweetness, tartness, creaminess and formation by Kome’s “yogurt masters.”
Keeping emotional effects in mind, their yogurt masters devised a flexible production process that could complement the body’s responses to yogurt during different seasons. In the hotter months, for instance, the yogurt is made with extra probiotics for a more refreshing, tart base that keeps their drinks light and summery.
First-timers should try the “Purple Kome” from their Signature Series, a headliner and crowd-favourite since day one of Kome’s food truck beginnings.
The key ingredient in this blend is steamed purple rice, a nutritious and chewy heirloom grain that originates from China and is still used in many of their desserts. The team works closely with purple rice farmers in Yunnan, China to bring a quality grain that you won’t find in any Toronto grocery store.
If you’re looking for something fruity, their Fresh Fruit Series features classics like Strawberry and Mango, as well as rarer, seasonal Asian flavours like Dragonfruit.
Other must-try flavours include Salted Egg Yolk, Oreo and their Matcha-based blends, such as Matcha Chestnut.
Prioritizing health and transparency, Kome’s yogurts are made only with Canadian milk and flavoured with traceable ingredients, plus cane sugar (but not too much of it).
“It’s all pleasure and no guilt,” says Shi.
Even the packaging here is entirely finetuned to be guilt-free: all their drinks are served inside biodegradable cups with sugarcane straws, plus aluminum peels to recreate the experience of actual yogurt cups.
Not taking any shortcuts, Kome’s central sourcing method comes with their very own Sourcing Team, which ensures the freshness and quality of imported ingredients, sent directly to their warehouses in Markham and Burnaby, BC.
While Shi continues drafting plans for the long term, the near future will see Kome going beyond the made-to-order model with a line of bottled yogurts, which you’ll be able to grab from the Kome store, at retailers including T&T, and in nearby convenient stores.
The Bar
Departing from the daytime wholesomeness of Kome’s yogurt blends, their hidden speakeasy, After Seven, plays a different tune for those golden-hour, evening crowds.
With their thorough planning and experimentation, you'll be surprised to know that After Seven was actually an after-thought. It was only upon seeing this elongated space for Kome Yogurt that the team saw its potential for something bold and secretive.
Although After Seven is technically a “secret,” finding the bar isn’t the problem. Entering it, however, is where it gets interesting. To get inside the speakeasy, you'll need to give the yogurt barista the right passcode or branded After Seven token.
You can get the passcode by keeping an eye on their Instagram, or dine at one of their partnering restaurants in the area, who may or may not give you a token after your meal (but you can’t ask for it!).
Luckily, there’s also a loophole for those who can plan ahead. Anyone who makes a reservation in advance will be given the passcode. Just make sure to do it soon, because they’re already booking up fast.
To enter After Seven, look for their custom-made vending machine door inside Kome Yogurt, which was salvaged by the team from an unused vending machine at an auto shop. Tap in the passcode on the keys, or drop your token in the slot, and you're in.
Stepping inside, you’ll immediately feel the abundance of Japanese influences at After Seven: light wood, softly rounded curves, golden accents and a corner bar covered in emperor jade green. Every element in here, Shi tells me, takes after the colours of the Shinagawa Central Garden in Tokyo, where one of his acquaintances, a gardener, works.
Through this connection, he was introduced to a woodworking master in Tokyo, who selected the very wood and gold accents you’ll find inside After Seven. These details, as well as the artwork and incoming furniture inside the speakeasy, are shipped directly from Japan.
Behind the bar, you’ll also find two calligraphy scrolls with “after seven” written in Japanese. Specially commissioned for the speakeasy, these scrolls were painted by a Japanese calligrapher using squid ink, which will gradually fade in colour to reflect its age.
Right now, the space gets flooded with sunlight through its floor-to-ceiling windows, but Shi plans to tint them with one-way film, keeping the bar a well-hidden secret from the outside while ensuring customers can still look out into the streets.
After Seven carries every spirit you’d normally find at a high-end bar, but what you should come for is their wide range of Japanese whiskeys and sakes. Helmed by their Principal Bartender from Japan, you can learn all about these spirits by booking a whiskey or sake tasting at the seated bar.
The rest of the space is where you’ll be able to enjoy their specialty cocktails, which are interpretations of modern favourites featuring Asian fruits.
While recipes may change with seasonal ingredients, you’ll always find exactly 7 house specials on the menu. After Seven makes it worthwhile for you to try all of them, because once you do, you'll be able to access their secret drinks menu.
Currently, their house specials include the Okinawa Old Fashioned made with Okinawan black sugar, the Pandan Panda—a coconut daiquiri served in a panda cup and dusted with black salt, and the Matcha Ramu—an aged rum cocktail with matcha.
It wouldn’t be a Kome speakeasy, of course, without any yogurt cocktails. Try the Boozy Rum Raisin or the Piña Colada, the only drink available at both After Seven and Kome Yogurt, with and without alcohol.
For those looking to enjoy their drinks while staying in, After Seven will also offer take-home cocktail kits featuring their signature mixes.
Encapsulating several aspects of this multi-concept, the “seven” in After Seven alludes to the 7-hour fermentation of their yogurt-making process, as well as the 7 days required for sake fermentation. Since the bar is designed for what Shi calls “sunset operations,” the number also refers to the time of day when we all need a nice cocktail.
The speakeasy isn’t even open yet, and Shi already has more plans for the After Seven brand. Keep an eye out for the “a.s.” logo—possibly, he hints, something along the lines of “Anti-Social.”
Located on 10 Stephanie Street, Kome Yogurt is open daily from 1p.m. to 10p.m. You can also order delivery through Uber Eats. After Seven’s grand opening is on February 25, 2022, and will be serving cocktails everyday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Make sure to follow their Instagram to get your passcode.
