Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Nguyen.
Hi Ryan, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
In 2014, I was given the opportunity to franchise a sushi bar inside Kroger. At this time, I was barely able to scramble eggs and toast a couple of slices of bread. I went to Houston to train for about a year and helped that company open a couple of stores. In 2015, I returned back to DFW and opened my first location in North Richland Hills and my second one in North Fort Worth a year later. During that time, I was building up my experience in restaurants and entrepreneurship.
Kroger was a good stepping stone but I wasn’t 100% fulfilled and I decided to open a food truck under my own brand, Sushi Dojo. We opened in February 2020 and, two weeks later, the whole world was shut down by COVID. Just like many others, the future of our business and the well-being of our families were very unsure. We decided to pivot and create family-style party trays and market directly to neighborhoods while people were staying at home. We created “pop-up deliveries” where we would take pre-orders of our party trays, prepare them inside of our Kroger location, and deliver them directly to the neighborhoods. It was a huge success and we were just happy to be able to keep all of our employees and provide for our families.
At the end of 2020, a close friend of mine let me know that his former Southlake restaurant had become available and that he thought it would be a perfect location for Sushi Dojo. We set a meeting with the landlord and I couldn’t agree more. I made the decision to leave Kroger and set up our new home in Southlake and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The support from the community has been overwhelming.
We opened a To-Go Kitchen in Northlake a year later and we are very excited about the concept! There is no dine-in at this location. People order online at sushidojodfw.com and pick up at our convenient Pickup Window. We are just constantly trying to adapt to the ever-changing restaurant world post-COVID.
During this time, we have won a few awards such as Southlake Style’s Readers’ Choice Best Asian Restaurant, Yelp’s Top 100 Restaurants in TX, and the Food Truck Championship of TX. Each award has been incredibly humbling and the recognition helps the team know we are on the right track. However, the best award of all is having our guests keep coming back and telling all of their friends about our small business!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
There have been many struggles any restaurant faces (especially during COVID), such as long work hours (60-100 hours/week), staff shortages, supply issues, and many more. The road to success is never a smooth road and hardly ever a straight line. Most people will look at any success story and wish they could do the same but they don’t understand the unbelievable amount of time, planning, hard work, and sacrifice it takes to open and operate any small business. You just do the best you can with what you have and always keep moving.
As you know, we’re big fans of Sushi Dojo. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
We are the leading fast-casual sushi restaurant located in Southlake. We believe that the majority of sushi bars are pretty similar and we pride ourselves in doing things a bit differently. We want to create an upbeat, welcoming vibe with great customer service. We have a unique menu that has creative offerings such as Sushi Tacos, Sushi Burritos, Sushi Cakes, and beautiful party trays that are sure to make your events memorable. Whether you are dining in at our Southlake location, picking up at our Northlake To-Go Kitchen, or visiting our food truck throughout the metroplex, we want to leave you with a lasting impression that makes you want to tell all of your friends about Sushi Dojo!
What matters most to you?
Growing up in a Vietnamese family-owned restaurant, family and food have always been most important and they basically go hand-in-hand. Cooking for someone was always our way of showing love for one another and we are happy to be able to share that with our guests.
We are still a family-owned restaurant and watching our kids grow up and being able to learn in this business has been such a blessing. They say they like working there because “You just get to hang out with your family and do chores and get paid”. I couldn’t agree more.
Pricing:
- Signature Rolls – $10-13
- Sushi Tacos – 2 for $9
- Sushi Burritos – $13-14
- Party Trays – $50-130
- Sushi Cakes – $60-125
Contact Info:
- Website: sushidojodfw.com
- Instagram: @sushidojodfw
- Facebook: Sushi Dojo DFW
Image Credits
Thanin Viriyaki
