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Why are there no conveyor belt sushi restaurants in St. Louis if they’re so popular elsewhere? — Barry P., St. Louis
In the early 1970s, a friend took me to a restaurant in San Francisco where the focal point was a counter with a meandering moat and little boats of sushi floating by. You’d pull off the items that looked interesting and stack the plates that were color coded by price. A newbie to both sushi and Japanese food, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
The concept of so-called “conveyor belt sushi” (also as rotation sushi or kaiten sushi) was introduced in Japan in the 1950s, eventually found its way to California, and spread slowly to the rest of the U.S. In St. Louis, the gimmick was part of the mix at Tokyo Seafood Buffet at 8004 Olive in U City (reviewed in 2012 by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Evan Benn here). According to Benn, one of the Sushi Ai locations at the time had a sushi conveyor as well. Neither restaurant is open today.
Over the years, critics of the concept addressed the lack of quality and questioned the time spent on the conveyor, both legitimate grievances.
In today’s competitive restaurant environment, restaurant gimmicks are alive and well, and we can make a case for comeback. Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages in today’s market.
Cons:
Cost: SLM food critic Dave Lowry (who also penned The Connoisseur’s Guide to Sushi) says that start-up costs for such endeavors are high (“All that equipment snaking through a restaurant is expensive and the layout requires a lot of space”), adding that “kaiten sushi is more popular in parts of Japan where rents and real estate are not quite so high—comparatively speaking.” A smaller, more traditional looking rectangular sushi counter would make more sense.
Acceptance: Lowry contends that “Midwesterners (I among them) don't really care for the tapas-type ‘grazing’ style of eating. Notice we have very few true tapas joints, either. We like our food in front of us so we can assess the portions. We're sensible that way. And we don't really care for gimmicky dining. Benihana-type places aren't all that popular. We don't care to have our food juggled or have dinner become part of a theater presentation. We figure sushi isn't going to be any better if we pluck it off a Lionel train passing by.”
Traffic: High opening costs and a relatively low check average necessitates higher customer counts.
Quality: Sushi chefs Nick Bognar (Nippon Tei, indo) and Eliott Harris (the former BaiKu Sushi Lounge) both reminded us that the quality and offerings of conveyor sushi in Japan (and even in California) are “better than average,” but being in St. Louis presents its own quality and availability challenges, according to Bognar.
Pros:
Convenience and speed: Walk in, sit down, select a few items, enjoy at your own pace, then leave. Fast food doesn’t get much faster.
Price: Conveyor belt sushi is traditionally inexpensive, but it’s deceiving as all those little plates can add up.
Familiarity: Similar to walking a cafeteria line, you select what looks the best and freshest, which is especially important when dealing with raw fish. Customers can play it safe or experiment with something that intrigues.
Novelty: Bits and pieces of nigiri, sushi rolls, seaweed salad, etc., ferried to the guest by boat, baggage claim-style conveyor belt, little trucks, or little trains? We get it.
Options: Hot items and full-size orders are usually available as well, ordered à la carte from touch screens, expanding the appeal.
Quality: The common perception is that raw fish bobbing by in a moat may be less than fresh, but modern technology is changing that.
Sushi is popular in St. Louis, no question. The metro’s myriad sushi joints bear this out. When you consider that restaurant labor is scarce and expensive, that things like order kiosks and robotics are replacing humans, and that today’s conveyor sushi joints are now using RFID technology to tag plates so they can be pulled after a specified period of time, we predict that it may be the perfect time to revive the concept here...especially if similar to Konbea Belt Sushi in Las Vegas, which has an all-you-can-eat option and a mini robot to deliver special-order items.
If you have a question for George, email him at gmahe@stlmag.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @stlmag_dining and Instagram. For more from SLM, subscribe or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
