Blue C Sushi

Picture this. You're in Japan. You're really hungry. You have 20 minutes in between trains. Everything costs three trillion yen. What to do? (This is sort of like a story problem—train A is coming from Kyoto at 125 miles an hour—but better because it's about food.) The answer? Kaiten sushi. Translated literally, kaiten means "turns" and refers to the turns in a conveyor belt. Yes, a conveyor belt of happiness—reasonably-priced sushi at a quick pace.

In Japan there are approximately 5000 kaiten sushi spots, mostly cafeteria style with little service and located in high turnover areas—train stations, airports, etc. It's a counterpoint to traditional Japanese restaurant meals that generally last several hours and are very expensive.

Blue C has brought kaiten to Fremont, soon to be known as "Sushi Center of the Universe." Owned by James Allard, Steve Rosen and Shinichi Miura*, Blue C offers a twist on the Japanese concept. The conveyor belt is there and the price is reasonable, but they offer top quality everything—fish, seaweed, rice, miso. The price point stays low due to turnover volume. Of course, Blue C is nicer than your average cafeteria-style train station Japanese kaiten sushi spot, so people tend to stay a little longer and enjoy the ambiance.

And how has Fremont taken to Blue C? Well, the restaurant is packed most of the time. On weekend evenings, the line can stretch out the front door and onto the sidewalk because even the bar upstairs is full. Such success in a crowded, competitive restaurant scene like Seattle's is something to admire. How did it all come about?

James has been interested in all things Japanese for years and lived for a year in Kanazawa, Japan. On a budget, he discovered kaiten sushi and became a several-times-weekly addict. Back in the US, he finished law school and practiced for three years. He then moved on to Microsoft and a few internet companies. What he was really thinking about was becoming an entrepreneur.

Steve returned to Seattle after college and started a film production company. In addition, he worked for Internet companies managing the production of websites. Steve was also thinking about outside opportunities. When James suggested bringing kaiten sushi to Seattle, Steve thought it was compelling. "You have to realize what was happening at the time. The stock and tech markets had tanked," says Steve. "People went from spending money almost thoughtlessly to worrying about money. Also, the health craze was growing and office workers didn't have a lot of healthy choices for lunch. It seemed like good timing." After research, "We thought we could be ready to open in three months," James remembers. "It was more like 18."

In looking at locations, they had to have foot traffic day and evening. "We weren't sure we would be a destination dining spot, so we sought a popular neighborhood location," says James. Fremont had the right foot traffic and a place that was ready to be leased.

Food is priority one, but Steve and James also believe the restaurant design, music and Japanese video set Blue C apart from other restaurants. "We continue to hone the music, adding new things all the time to keep it fresh. We'll be adding more music from Japan," Steve says. "We like creating video in-house, like the film shot of the Tokyo Elvis's. It continues to be one of our customers' favorite videos. We're planning annual trips to Tokyo to take more."

The upstairs bar/waiting area gets great feedback on their specialty cocktails. More sake-oriented drinks are in the works. A daily happy hour takes place in the bar from 4-6 p.m. that offers drink specials and discounted plate prices. Groups of ten or more people can rent the corner area of the bar for drinks and platters.

The cornerstone to all of this, or course, is the food. Refusing to stint on the quality of food, they buy only grade one fish (there are three grades). Rice-wise, they offer Nishiki which has the top layer milled off and contains no talc, eliminating the powdery taste as it cools. The Japanese feel strongly about seaweed. It should be harvested from January to February to ensure consistency and tenderness. Blue C uses Yamamoto Yama Gold Standard seaweed, harvested at just the right time. The latest high-end food for Blue C is imported akadashi miso. It is red in color, pure soybean with no rice mixed in. It has no MSG or bonito fish powder and is completely vegetarian and vegan friendly. The paste is aged for over a year and results in a richer, more complex soup.

Freshness is the key when you're talking sushi. Blue C uses a barcoding system on their conveyor system. Each plate has a barcode on it. When a plate is placed on the conveyor belt, it goes by a reader. If it is still on an hour later, an audible chirp goes off and the chef removes the plate. A bonus to customers is that there is almost no storage room at Blue C. Consequently, food is delivered on a daily basis—we're talking fresh. "Having no storage space turned out to be a lucky driver of business," says James.

This mural located inside Blue C depicts the Fremont of today. 

As anyone knows who has gone to a sushi bar, great skill is needed to cut fish the right way. A sushi chef, like any other chef, needs a mix of skills to be successful. The man behind the knife and kitchen at Blue C is Shinichi Miura. Born and raised in Tokyo, he trained for many years as a cutter. He worked in Los Angeles and Dallas before moving to the Northwest. He had been thinking about creating his own restaurant, so when James and Steve approached him about becoming part owner of Blue C, it all fell into place.

Working kaiten is very different for a chef than a regular sushi restaurant. The pace is fast; about three-to-four times that of a regular restaurant. It's a balancing act to keep the belt full with the right items and still converse with customers. The ratio of customers to chef is much higher at a kaiten restaurant—more questions to answer, more fish to cut.

Service levels at Blue C are higher than traditional kaiten spots offer, but less than a regular restaurant. This can cause tipping confusion. But as James says "Our wait staff and chefs share tips. People should tip whatever they feel is right—it's their experience."

With a year of experience behind them, what are the minds of James and Steve thinking about now? "We'd love to grow, but want to do it in a thoughtful way. We can't make a location error and also feel we should continue to prove ourselves," says James. "By end-of-summer 2005, we'd like to have a second location open. And after that, we'll see." In the meantime, a website is coming, www.bluecsushi.com, delivery date unknown. And a catering program will hopefully be in place fall/winter 2004.

Bottom line, kaiten sushi is a great way to expand your palate without a great deal of risk. Costs are reasonable, you get to see the food before you choose it and if you select something you don't like, you haven't ruined your entire meal, it's just a few bites. Being "on the belt" is fun and you share the restaurant with a diverse group of people from kids to octogenarians. And when you go to Blue C, you can count on freshness and quality—how can you lose?

2004