At Jensen Huang’s favorite Japan pub, it’s not last call yet

When Nvidia founder Jensen Huang was in Tokyo last month, the most surprising place he visited wasn’t a chip supplier or even video game maker Sega Sammy Holdings, but Yakiton Sankichi.

The casual eatery is an izakaya, often translated as a Japanese pub. It’s the type of down-at-heel establishment for the masses that Huang has favored in Seoul and Taipei; he’s reported to have spent ¥300,000 on food and drinks with the heads of crucial chip suppliers at the restaurant.

Huang’s fans have flocked to Yakiton Sankichi, which is now apologizing to customers for slow service due to an explosion in popularity. But might his golden touch rub off on the izakaya industry as a whole?