Sushi concept beat the odds

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor

KAHULUI, Maui — The best chefs don't always make the best business people.

Jon Miyabuchi, founder and head executive at Sushi Go! said he does good business at the flagship restaurant at Ka'ahumanu Center restaurant in Kahului, Maui. The 1 1/2-year-old Kihei outlet, however, is eating into profits. Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser

Miyabuchi had crunched the numbers and was convinced that the novelty of sushi served on a conveyor belt at reasonable prices would be a success, even without a marquee name in the kitchen.

The bankers were not impressed.

"The first thing out of their mouths was, 'You have no restaurant experience,' " he said.

Miyabuchi, a Maui High School graduate who took one business class on his way to earning an English degree at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, was refused financing. He turned instead to friends and family, who came up with $300,000 in startup capital.

Three years later, his two Sushi Go! restaurants are reporting combined annual sales of $1.5 million, and Miyabuchi is preparing to franchise the business.

"Bankers don't always know everything," he said.

The 37-year-old always had an entrepreneurial streak. His parents, retired schoolteachers, inspired him to strive to achieve.

At age 7, he organized a mini-carnival to raise money for charity. He sold Christmas cards and seeds, and washed cars in the neighborhood.

At age 22, Miyabuchi started an import business out of a warehouse in Kapolei, bringing in Asian food and candy. He also introduced visors and items that changed colors in the sunlight, and sold the color-changing inks and dyes to other companies.

The turning point came when he was statewide manager for Sprint PCS Wireless retail stores, and got wind of cutbacks expected some months later. An uncertain future with the big corporation led Miyabuchi to explore the idea of going back into business for himself.

While brainstorming for ideas, his mother suggested "fast-food" sushi. At the time, many Maui sushi bars were high-end establishments in resort areas. Despite the notoriously high failure rate for new restaurants, Miyabuchi saw a recipe for success.

"I knew that if we came in at the right demographic and the right prices, we could attract a pretty good following," he said.

He figured the conveyor belt concept, popular in Japan for decades and in use at several O'ahu restaurants, would allow Sushi Go! to sell at a higher volume and lower prices, because customers don't have to wait — they simply pluck a plate of sushi off the conveyor as it passes. Prices range from $1.75 to $4 per plate.

The automated system made sense for another reason: "If you're a sushi bar and you don't have a famous chef, who's going to come in?" Miyabuchi said. "That's why we got the belt."

For his marketing studies and financial projections, Miyabuchi worked all the business angles, but he still needed someone to run the kitchen. He hooked up with Patrick Turner, who was married to a former Sprint co-worker and had experience at several Maui hotels. Turner is corporate chef, and food and beverage manager for Sushi Go!

Todd Winterbottom, married to Miyabuchi's cousin, is executive chef. Miyabuchi's wife, Melanie, handles personnel matters for the 40 employees in addition to her regular job at a hotel.

The flagship restaurant at the Ka'ahumanu Center in Kahului remains a solid success, but the Sushi Go! at the Kukui Mall in Kihei, which opened December 2001, is struggling to gain a foothold in the competitive tourist-oriented market. Miyabuchi said he is still trying to find the right advertising and marketing mix to draw both visitors and regular customers.

The 45-seat Kihei operation has been eating into profits, but that hasn't stopped Miyabuchi from thinking even bigger.

He added entertainment three nights a week at the Kahului restaurant, and instituted a $22.99 all-you-can-eat special on Wednesdays to boost business on a slow night. The menu has grown to include pupu items such as chicken wings, and the 55-seat sushi bar is expanding to offer separate table service.

Miyabuchi regrets not hiring more experts at the start to help with advertising, promotion and kitchen design, for example. He and Turner "eyeballed" the kitchen plans, and now find the space too small for some things they'd like to add to the menu.

More startup capital, preferably from those skeptical bankers, also would have helped give the business a little breathing room, he said.

Miyabuchi wants to go international, and is investing $100,000 on legal services and other expenses to franchise Sushi Go! by the end of the year. He said he had received 50 inquiries from around the world.

In the meantime, the president and chief executive officer works long hours making sure the business doesn't slide into complacency or lose its appeal.

"You can have good managers in place, but you need to keep your eyes on the operation or you can lose a lot to waste or pilferage," Miyabuchi said. "And you have to be diligent in maintaining the customer experience."

Looking back on the past three years since Sushi Go! opened, Miyabuchi said the restaurant's success has been a little scary.

"I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, like people are going to stop coming."