Sushi With Legs

Innovative Dining Group saw the opportunity to leverage the success of their high-end Los Angeles and Las Vegas Sushi Roku restaurants by packaging many of those menu items in a more casual concept. “We had been in the sushi business for 11 years producing (check averages of) $50 to $65 per person at all of our Japanese restaurants,” says c.e.o. Lee Maen. He and his partners hypothesized that their target market would go out for “quality sushi” not just weekly or monthly, but up to three times a week if the price points were lower. Thus, the goal with LuckyFish was two-fold: to provide something sushi aficionados would use regularly, and, to bring sushi to the masses.

SUSHI FOR THE PEOPLE: Lucky Fish was designed to bring sushi to the masses, with lower price points.

The LuckyFish décor is definitely a step above casual. A geometric sculpture made of warm woods hangs above the patio, creating a striking canopy. Inside, pink cherry blossoms decorate the walls. The sushi bar is made of white pebbles embedded in clear resin. The booths are upholstered in white leather.

To make the business model work — and to do so without downgrading ingredients — IDG knew they'd need greater guest volume, mass production techniques and reduced labor. The kaiten-sushi model was the solution that met all three of these criteria. The streamlined kitchen distributes little plates of food via a conveyor-belt that winds through the restaurant. The system allows guests to start eating even before they place their drink orders, which gets them in and out in as little as 15 minutes. Behind the scenes, tools such as a sushi robot, which forms the nigeri, speed up production. The self-service nature of the concept reduces labor, contributing to cost savings. “We had only seen bad examples of conveyor-belt sushi restaurants in the U.S.,” says Maen. In London, however, the partners were impressed with the YO! Sushi concept and, last year, recruited from that company Darren Wightman as LuckyFish's new director of development and operations.

Rather than cannibalizing their existing businesses, Maen and his team believe their polished casual concept will capture new guests, and help to recruit customers for IDG's higher-end concepts as well. “People go to all kinds of restaurants. We believe the same person will visit our different restaurants on different nights.”

The menu is priced by the plate, and the color of the plate indicates the price. Items range from $3.50 to $10 and include such items as sushi rolls, sashimi and nigeri. There's also a selection of hot and cold appetizers, salads, tempura and teriyaki items, including Crunchy Panko Breaded Shrimp with Tonakatsu Sauce ($6), Japanese Shishito Peppers ($6.50), and Yakisoba with Shrimp or Vegetables ($4.50 to $6.50). The little plates add up to big checks. The average LuckyFish guest spends $26. “It's too early to tell exactly what our profits will be,” says Maen, “but we're shooting for a 20 percent EBITDA, which is similar to fine dining.” He adds, “You have to look at the big picture. A fine dining restaurant could do $7 million, whereas something casual will do just $2 or $3 million — but you could open hundreds of casual restaurants.” Which is precisely the point. IDG plans to add three additional LuckyFish in Southern California, then tap new markets starting with Las Vegas and Scottsdale, AZ, entering with Sushi Roku or their Boa Steakhouse concept and “dotting around with LuckyFish.” The chain will grow at a rate of four to five units per year over the next several years, funded by its own cash flow. By the time LuckyFish hits the 30-unit mark, Maen says IDG will “sell it to a bigger company to take it the rest of the way.”