Mio Sushi

Portland and Seattle love to root for the independent operator and it gives us profound pleasure to see them succeed. To see a small, local business grow successfully because they're sticking to their beliefs is even better. Getting high-quality sushi at a reasonable price—nearly the best feeling ever.

Sonny in front of South Lake Union model

Sonny Kim grew up in Korea where he planned to become a photographer like his father. He also attended sushi training school. "People wonder why Koreans run sushi restaurants. But you find the best fish in between Japan and Korea. Japanese people call it the Japan Sea, Koreans call it the East Sea and they're still fighting about it," laughs Sonny. "Warmer water comes from Taiwan and the Philippines and colder from Russia. Some areas are very deep. There's a lot of plankton; it's a great area for fish. Koreans serve lots of sashimi and there are many hwae (raw fish) houses, sometimes 5-6 on one block."

In 1987, Sonny came to the US where his father felt he would get better training in photography. Instead, he got a job at a Washington, D.C. restaurant. "Being a sushi-man, I worked all day. I never had time for photography," recalls Sonny. Eventually, he moved to Chicago where he met a waitress at his restaurant who was also a magician. They married and decided to act on her main dream—get out of Chicago and head to LA! "I like driving and traveling, so no problem!" says Sonny. They experienced the 1994 Northridge earthquake and decided to head home to Korea, staying three months. When they returned to LA, there were no jobs. Sonny saw an ad for a restaurant in Portland and, having no idea how far it was, applied for it. They got in their car on a lovely November LA day and headed into snow at Grants Pass and Portland, the first snow he'd ever seen.

Both Sonny and Joon wanted the American dream—owning their own place. For eight years, they prayed about it. After moving to Portland, they saw a restaurant called Mio Bento. It was small, 800 square feet. It never seemed busy. Sonny spoke to the owner and asked him if he had any ideas on leasing space. The owner said "Why don't you take this place?" They settled on a deal that didn't require any money up front and Sonny and Joon took over in 1995, squeezing 22 seats into the small space. "Sushi" went over "Bento" on the sign—no money for a new sign! The original sign is still in their warehouse.

Their concept was to offer the freshest food at a reasonable price. Each day, more people came in. One day, a line formed. Unbeknownst to them, The Oregonian had published a review. Three years later, they purchased a restaurant but eventually made a deal with one of the sushi chefs to run the business while he cut fish until he paid for the restaurant, which he did. Three years after that, they opened a second Mio Sushi. "My wife and I were so proud to own these restaurants. As we've opened more, we've been asked why we have them sometimes less than a mile apart. Winter weather can be bad and our places are small. We want customers to get in and not stand outside. We also want to help people by giving them jobs." They now have a total of 11 restaurants in Oregon (nine in the Portland metro area, one in Eugene, one in Bend). Camas and Seattle are opening soon and they're working on Redmond and Issaquah. According to James Han who has been a partner in their franchising company since 2008, they hope to open more than 10 locations in Washington. "Seattle feels like home to me," says Sonny. "And James graduated from the University of Washington and has lived here a long time. We found the Rollin Street Flats location two years ago but the timing wasn't right. This time it worked."

A Mio Sushi dining room; below: Sonny Kim and James Han

About half of the Mio Sushi locations are franchises. "Sonny generally owns a percentage and I have some ownership. The majority percentage is owned by the franchisee," explains James. "We enable E2 investors to purchase a franchise and operate successfully in the US. E2 investors are people from other countries who bring money here to buy a business. We have four very successful franchises under the E2 status right now."

With growth, they needed to control quality. They built a commissary where providers bring the fish. Just like the early days when Sonny went to the fish market each day, he and others still look at each fish and send back the ones that don't meet their standards. Fish is portioned, vacuum sealed and frozen to comply with health codes. Based on sales volumes, product is delivered to each location in their own vans. "After our third location in Washington is open, we plan to build a commissary there," says James.

Fish comes from a variety of sources, but they procure based on sustainability. "Our partners must practice sustainable fishing," explains James. "Our ultimate goal is to supply our own fish, partnering with a source boat." Catering is another part of their business; both drop off and full service. "We set up a sushi bar at the Blazers' facility for their 2010 anniversary and we've done the Bite of Oregon," says James.

Their menu consists of classics as well as fusion dishes. "I've worked with many chefs and a master. He taught me the classic style," explains Sonny. "We offer cooked fish as well as raw. Our chefs are young, smart, educated and have great ideas. We bring them together and they make suggestions. If we like a dish, we offer it to customers. If they like it, it goes on the menu."

When Mio Sushi opens in Seattle toward the end of October, expect great service, fresh food and reasonable prices. Sonny guarantees it!

Connie Adams/October 2011