There's nothing fishy about Yo Sushi

Yo Sushi is a winner once again in the Daily Republic's Reader's Choice survey for best sushi restaurant and it's not surprising what with all its repeat, far-flung customers.

Owner Joe Kim said his customers don't just come from Fairfield -- they travel from as far as San Francisco, Sacramento and Vallejo to enjoy what the small restaurant has to offer. Which is, Kim said, "Lots of variety for moderate prices."

And it's all freshly made, he said.

Dine-in or take-out, it's all popular with customers such as Joyce Anderson of Fairfield who heads to Yo Sushi a couple times a month for the shrimp and vegetable tempura.

"That’s my specialty," she said. "The taste is fantastic."

Or Fairfield resident Ruby Yao, who eats at the restaurant once a week but also purchases the combination party tray for work parties or for her family.

And Cynthia Gibson also orders the party tray for religious events or for her family, as well, citing freshness, accuracy, taste and fast service as the primary reasons she enjoys the restaurant.

"You get a lot of food for your money," she said. "It's very fresh...they prepare it right there."

For those Yo sushi fans who travel far, Kim is opening a new location(100 Robles Way) in Vallejo. The restaurant is slated to open in March. And for those who just simply want more of o good local thing, the eatery is now open on Sunday to accommodate the repeat customers that have flocked to Yo Sushi during the last 6.5 years.

February 21, 2009
BY SUSAN WINLOW
DAILY REPUBLIC

Owner-chef finds popularity with
his fusion-style sushi

FAIRFIELD - A steady stream of customers, some carrying takeout bags and others sitting down to box inches of sushi with teriyaki beef or chicken an tempura, floods through a small sushi restaurant on North Texas Street.

Yo Sushi owner Joe Kim, 32, has been living his dream
- a sushi restaurant of his own
- for just more than five years.

Kim grew up working in his parents' sushi restaurants in Korea. "I tried to learn every place," he said. After immigrating to California with his parents in the mid-1990s, Kim - then in his early 20s - apprenticed with a "master" sushi chef in San Francisco's Japantown.

The master had 50 years experience, Kim said, and taught him how to prepare "traditional style" sushi, Kim said, has a richer, deeper, more natural taste than the type of sushi he has learned many young Americans prefer.

"Fusion style" sushi blends, or fuses, Japanese traditional with what Kim calls "American style."

His restaurant not only draws a healthy crowd at lunchtime, it is also particularly packed on Fridays and Saturdays, Kim said. Sixty percent of the business is takeout, but there are a few tables for those who want to sit and eat.

Fairfield resident Zefram Corretjer said he definitely agrees with Daily Republic readers who voted Yo Sushi as Fairfield's best. "I've been coming since the beginning, since it opened," Corretjer said.

And what makes this sushi better? "The freshness and the price," he said.

Corretjer's lunch companion, Fairfield resident Arlett Ringer, said, "This is only my second time being here, but of all the other sushi places I've eaten, this would be my top one."

Ringer said Yo Sushi's food "is a lot better than other sushi places I've eaten... just the taste of it, the texture of it."

The popularity of his fusion-style sushi has not escaped the notice of potential investors. Kim said he has been approached by some who wonder whether he might franchise.

"I want to franchise later," he said.

Just 27 when he opened Yo Sushi "five years and three months ago," the entrepreneur said achieving such immediate success with his venture "has been the dream of my life."

February 23, 2008
by CAROL BOGART
DAILY REPUBLIC