Masa's was opened in July 1983 by chef Masataka Kobayashi.

[2] Upon its opening, the restaurant had a six-month waiting list for reservations.

[1] Kobayashi was murdered in 1984,[3][4] and sous-chef Bill Galloway ran the kitchen until Julian Serrano became executive chef.

[1] Short left Masa's on February 16, 2013, and the restaurant closed, with intentions to re-open.

Galloway started working with different food distributors, improving the quality of the seafood, and hired a larger dessert staff.