Leina Horii is the co-chef and co-owner of Kisser in Nashville, a restaurant she created with her husband, Brian Lea, inspired by the Japanese kissaten tradition.
Raised in a restaurant family in California, Horii grew up immersed in hospitality. Her father is a sushi chef, and her mother runs the kitchen in their family’s sushi restaurant.
Horii began her professional cooking career under chef Jordan Kahn at Red Medicine before continuing her training at Petit Trois and Trois Mec with Ludo Lefebvre. After moving to Nashville, she worked as sous chef at The Catbird Seat under Ryan Poli, then joined the team at Bastion, where she reconnected with Lea.
In 2021, Horii and Lea launched a series of pop-ups and a weekly farmers market stand, developing the ideas that would become Kisser. They opened the restaurant in 2023, creating a neighborhood space centered on Japanese comfort food and casual dining.
Horii and Lea have since expanded their work with Babychan, a daytime bakery and coffee shop in Nashville, continuing to build on their shared approach to hospitality and community.
