Our Story
Hi! 👋 I'm Megan, founder of Kizuna. I started Kizuna because of my own desire to find a space where I could build community & make new friends as an adult (a strangely tricky thing to do!). I also wanted to find ways to add more fun & joyful practices that would combat the intense burnout that I've experienced through different seasons of life.
As I talked to others, I realized I wasn't alone in my challenges expanding my community, in my feelings of burnout, or in my desire for more joy in the face of the world as it currently exists. In fact, according to a Harvard study 61% of young adults feel serious loneliness and a 2023 Deloitte study found that 77% of workers have experienced burnout.
So I decided to take my decade-plus of experience in marketing, events, hospitality, and community building (skills I'd spent years using to drive corporate sales) and put them toward something that actually matters to me: joy and social connection.
We're starting in Crown Heights, Brooklyn at 84 Rogers Ave with an all-day cafe featuring a menu inspired by the Hawaiian and Japanese flavors I grew up with and events designed to help people connect over the things they love. This is just the beginning and I can’t wait to take you along for the ride.
I hope to see you there soon!
Why Kizuna
The Japanese word kizuna (絆) means the enduring bonds between people, the kind of close relationships formed through mutual trust, shared experiences, and showing up for each other. It's the feeling of belonging somewhere and to someone. That’s what we’re here for.
A Next-Gen Third Space
Third spaces – a term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg – are where people gather and connect outside of home and work. Think neighborhood bars, barbershops, coffee shops, community centers. In recent years, many of these spaces have been lost to rising rents and digital displacement. And even though we're more digitally connected than ever, loneliness is at an all-time high. Today, there's a growing movement to bring third spaces back in new, intentional ways. That's exactly what Kizuna is doing.
What We’re All About
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Joy
Life is too short to save fun for the weekend. Joy isn't a luxury, it's something you deserve to make time for on the regular.
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Play
How often do you do things just for fun? Kizuna is your permission slip to make room for joy and remember that not everything has to be productive to be worthwhile.
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Presence
We're not anti-screens or anti-tech, but we know you need a break. Kizuna experiences are designed to pull you offline and into the moment.
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Connection
oy, play, and presence hit different when you're sharing them with other people IRL. Kizuna exists to help you find those people. That's kizuna, the bonds between people (it's literally our name).
Want to be part of it?
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Get in touch!
Our team is here to answer your questions, brainstorm on partnership ideas, listen to your suggestions, or chat about whatever else is on your mind. Fill out the form with and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible!