What should I do in the first months after buying a sushi restaurant?

A sushi restaurant runs on the hands of a few people and on deliveries that arrive when they are expected. After closing, your job is to protect both. The regulars chose the place for how the food tastes and looks, and they will notice a change before you do. Treat the early months as a time of listening, learning and keeping the kitchen steady.

Keep the chefs and their stations

The sushi chefs carry knowledge that is not written down: how the rice is prepared, how fish is cut and handled, how each station is set up before service. Meet each chef one on one early. Ask what they would never change and what frustrates them. If the seller agreed to stay on for a handover period, use that time to watch service, not to give orders.

Keep the fish and rice suppliers

Ask who supplies the fish and rice, since those suppliers will know the kitchen’s habits. Introduce yourself in person, ask whether each account must be reopened in your name, and learn the delivery days, order cut-offs and how problems get fixed. Ask each supplier how the restaurant has been treated. Keep orders steady before you negotiate anything, so that the relationship starts on good terms.

Hold the menu and the plate

Regulars order the same rolls and expect the same plate. Keep the core menu, portions and presentation as they were, and write down what sells and what does not. When you do want a change, try one item at a time and watch how the regulars react. Your accountant can help you set up the books, and our page on setting up new supplier accounts explains when a buyer has to open fresh ones.