YO! Sushi
UK to US
It’s another British invasion, only this time it’s all about raw
fish. YO! Sushi, a kaiten sushi bar, opened in London in 1997 and became
all the rage. There are now 54 YO! Sushi locations in the UK (company
owned) and more than 80 worldwide (franchised). They’re now on their way
to the US, targeting 20 cities including Seattle. What’s in store for
us?
David Gonzalez of Franchise Dynamics, which has a long-term contract
with YO! Sushi to develop their brand here, has high hopes for the US
and particularly Seattle. The US is a $3.1 billion market with a 9.5
percent growth rate for half full/half limited service Asian
restaurants. They did extensive research on potential cities and Seattle
rated at the top of each category. The average sushi spend is lower here
than other markets in their demographic group, telling them that we
haven’t hit the ceiling and there is great opportunity. "Seattle has a
lot of Asian restaurants that serve sushi, but not as many pure sushi
restaurants," David says. Their research focused on saturation in the
market, number of Asian restaurants and lifestyle brands that share the
same customer as YO! Sushi. Right now, the new locations are planned as
franchises, but the company, Quilvest, may decide to come over at some
point. "We just launched this program in the last few weeks," David
explains. "The first restaurants will open late in the first quarter or
early second quarter next year. We’re currently looking for partners and
locations in Seattle. We want someone in the group we deal with to have
significant restaurant experience."
Location-wise, they look for high traffic. They’re considering the
Pike Street downtown, Kirkland, Bellevue. "We feel there’s room for five
locations in the Seattle area, maybe 2-3 in the downtown Seattle area.
It’s a great area because it’s spread out in sizable pockets with large
populations that work and play in each area. That means there’s daytime
and nighttime traffic. It’s a great city."
Another reason Seattle resonates with YO! Sushi is that we match up
with their brand. "Seattle is an eco-friendly city," says David. "And
YO! Sushi is an eco-friendly brand. And Seattle has an abundance of
fresh fish here." They follow recommendations from the Marine
Stewardship Council (www.msc.org)
and flash freeze salmon and tuna so there are no bacterial issues; it’s
high quality and safe.
 Their
plan in the US is to stay true to their current menu. Twenty-five
percent of their items are vegetarian, 35% are hot/cooked. They offer
over 90 menu items including sashimi, tempura, soup, salad and hot
items. "We’ve pushed hard for 3-4 years to make sure people know we have
hot items as well as raw fish," says David. "We do limited time offers
and rotate hot items on and off the menu." He thinks they will also do
limited time offers on fish sourced locally. Normally, they source
farmed salmon from Scotland but for the US market will work with salmon
farms in Chile. "We have very tough standards that the farms have to
meet. We’re working with them now to build relationships."
Photo courtesy of YO! Sushi
Other popular programs will most likely be replicated in the US. Blue
Mondays offer everything on the belt for approximately $3.00. January
brings 20-25% off on sushi. David feels it’s likely that US franchisees
will also want to hold sushi classes: rolls, cutting fish and kids’
classes. "It’s a great opportunity to get people in the store. Classes
are usually held Saturday mornings. "I attended one and even got to keep
the sushi knife!" They also put together chef/belt/staff packages and
take the show on the road to office parties and have produced a cook
book.
YO! offers various dining options. You can choose take away,
delivery, a quick meal in the restaurant or a leisurely meal with
friends. In dense downtown areas, deliveries are made by scooter and
bicycle, wrapped in YO! Sushi branding. They’ve built boxes to fit on
the front of Vespas and bicycles to hold stacked boxes of sushi.
 Any
kaiten aficionado wants to know that everything on the belt is fresh.
YO! has a low-tech but effective way to make this transparent. Each dish
has a cover for hygienic reasons. Each cover is stamped with the time it
has to be removed. As workers add items to the belt, they monitor the
time stamps and pull anything past its prime. Guests can also see the
time stamp and choose accordingly.
Photo courtesy of YO! Sushi
Franchise owners can choose to add a full bar menu or just serve
beer, wine and sake. Depending on size of the location, they can add a
"holding bar" where people can enjoy drinks and/or wait for a space at
the belt.
YO! Sushi has a winning concept and done their research on Seattle.
And more kaiten sushi can only be a good thing. Bring the invasion on!
Connie Adams/December 2010 |
