YO! Sushi is a company that owns, operates, and franchises
conveyor belt sushi
, also called rotation sushi, is a type of sushi restaurant common in Japan. In Australasia, it is also known as a sushi train.
Plates serving the sushi are placed on a rotating conveyor belt that winds through the restaurant and moves past eve ...
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
s, principally in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
History
![Yo! Sushi in Manchester](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Yo%21_Sushi_in_Manchester.jpg)
YO! Sushi was founded in 1997, by British entrepreneur
Simon Woodroffe.
The current owner is Mayfair Equity Partners and members of the YO! Sushi Senior Management team. YO! Sushi opened its first restaurant in
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develop ...
, London in January 1997. A second restaurant followed opening in
Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...
.
In 2000, Robin Rowland became CEO, and in 2002, YO! Sushi opened their first restaurant outside London, in Manchester's
Selfridges
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...
. By 2003, the company had twelve restaurants open, and the first franchise opened in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
In April 2003, one scene from the movie ''
Johnny English
''Johnny English'' is a 2003 spy
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the ...
'' takes place in a restaurant of YO! Sushi. Johnny English gets his tie stuck in the conveyor belt. Two new franchises opened in 2007, one in Dublin, the other in Moscow. In April 2010, they opened their fiftieth company owned restaurant in Market Place, London.
In 2008, they became the first catering group to adopt the
Food Standards Agency
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's traffic light colour coding system, which allows customers to see nutritional information about the food they are eating.
From 1 September 2009, the YO! Sushi in
Whiteleys Shopping Centre launched its takeaway and delivery services, allowing customers to go into the restaurant and order their food or order online to get food delivered to their homes.
By June 2014, the company had more than seventy restaurants.
In October 2016, the company opened its first American stand alone restaurant in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
, and a few months later, in the Flatiron District in Manhattan, in March 2017. The company had five restaurants in North America, but all of them have since closed.
Restaurants
YO! Sushi specialises in delivering sushi to customers using the
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese style 'kaiten'
conveyor belt
A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...
method.
In each restaurant various
sushi
is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...
dishes and other Japanese cooked foods are prepared in a theater style kitchen in plain view of customers and then set on the thin conveyor belt.
The belt carries food around the restaurant in a circuit, allowing diners to pick any dish from the belt.
The restaurants are mostly based in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
with the majority in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. Restaurants have also been opened in the Middle East in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
and
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, with others in other countries such as
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
In the United States, YO! Sushi has opened five restaurants: There was a YO! Sushi located at the
Westfield Garden State Plaza
Garden State Plaza (officially Westfield Garden State Plaza) is a shopping mall located in Paramus, New Jersey. It is owned and managed by Paris-based real estate management company Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, and located at the intersection of R ...
shopping mall in
Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
, which is close to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The location opened in May 2015, but it closed in 2017. There was also another location in
Sarasota, Florida
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
.
Then, three more locations opened in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
,
Short Hills, New Jersey
Short Hills is an unincorporated community located within Millburn Township, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a popular commuter town for residents who work in New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the CDP's pop ...
at
The Mall at Short Hills
The Mall at Short Hills, also known as the Short Hills Mall, is a shopping mall located in the Short Hills section of Millburn, New Jersey, United States. It is located west of Newark Airport and west of Manhattan, and is situated near both M ...
, and
Woodbury Commons
Woodbury Common Premium Outlets is an outlet center located in Central Valley, New York. The center is owned by Premium Outlets, a subsidiary of Simon Property Group, and takes its name from the town in which it is located. Opened in late 1985, ...
mall in
Central Valley, New York
Central Valley is a hamlet in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 1,857 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a census-designated place. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, NY Metropolitan St ...
. All of the locations in the United States were eventually closed by 2018. Mayfair Equity Partners acquired Canadas Bento Sushi in 2018.
The company's headquarters is on Farringdon Road,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, United Kingdom. The company offer a menu with 19 vegan items. At the
PETA
Peta or PETA may refer to:
Acronym
* Pembela Tanah Air, a militia established by the occupying Japanese in Indonesia in 1943
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an American animal rights organization
* People Eating Tasty Animals, an ...
Vegan Food Awards 2015, the company's Tofu Katsu Curry won in the category ''Best Vegan Curry''. The restaurant also provides classes in making sushi.
In August 2020, Yo! Sushi announced that it will shut 19 of its restaurants and cut up to 250 jobs as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) restructuring process.
Environmental record
In November 2015, the
Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society is a UK based not-for-profit organization working with businesses, governments and communities to clean and protect the oceans. Founded in 1983, the group claims to be working towards "cleaner, better-protected, h ...
rated restaurants on the sustainability of their seafood. YO! Sushi served more species of seafood than the other chains surveyed, and still received a rating of 4.1 out of 5.0 which was among the highest ratings.
See also
*
List of sushi restaurants
This is a list of notable sushi restaurants. Sushi is the Japanese preparation and serving of specially prepared vinegared rice combined with varied ingredients such as chiefly seafood (often uncooked), vegetables, and occasionally tropical fruits ...
References
External links
*
*
{{UK Food
Restaurant groups in the United Kingdom
Asian restaurants in London
Restaurants established in 1997
Sushi restaurants in the United Kingdom