CRESTVIEW — Family food — Japanese style — is on the menu at You Sushi and Hibachi.
“It’s family-owned,” hostess Mei Zheng said as she nodded to Jimmy Ye, who was hard at work behind the sushi bar. “He’s my husband. Everybody works together.”
Family extends to the restaurant’s hibachi and kitchen chef, Hai Zheng. He’s Ye’s father.
The 450 Main St. N. location closed as Sapporo on Aug. 30. Less than three weeks later, the family opened the doors to You Sushi and Hibachi on Sept. 19.
IT’S ALL ABOUT ‘YOU’
The “You” in the restaurant’s name carries multiple meanings, Mei Zheng said. In the family’s native Chinese dialect, it means “a leaf,” reinforced by the restaurant’s “flaming leaf” logo.
“A leaf is green, for happiness and healthy food,” she said. “It is shaped like a flame because we want the news to spread like fire about our good food.”
And in the family’s adopted American English, the restaurant name has a familiar meaning.
“’You’ means you,” Mei said. “You and your family are our priority here.”
Ye said a brief visit to Crestview while passing through town made a lasting impression on him, and inspired him to return and open his restaurant.
“I just dropped by here and I saw people were very nice and friendly,” he said. “Even in Wal-Mart, they were smiling and greeting each other. You never see this in the city.”
LISTENING TO PATRONS
Mei Zheng said the family listens to customers’ suggestions and recommendations. They started by lowering menu prices from their predecessors’ charges.
“We want everybody to have good sushi, not just rich people,” Ye said. “We serve good food at reasonable prices.”
By offering a menu of lunch specials, Ye and his family have also sped up the service time for busy workers who have limited lunch periods.
But of course, Ye said, patrons may order anything from the dinner menu at lunchtime.
“And anything not on the menu, we can create!” Mei said.
AFTER-CHURCH LUNCH
Word is getting out. A steady stream of customers recently came and went, including some who called ahead for take-out orders.
The family hopes to tap into another underserved clientele: the Sunday after-church lunch crowd, for whom they offer 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. hours.
“We hope we can soon be open all day Sunday if enough customers wish,” Ye said.
He was just 18 when he arrived in the U.S. from China. At last, after years of hard work, he has attained the American dream of owning his own business.
“I’ve been working for other people for many years,” Ye said. “Now we are trying to succeed with our own restaurant. We want this place to be busy all the time!”
You Sushi and Hibachi is located at 450 Main St. N. Call 306-3986 for more information.
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ‘Everybody works together’