Tony Yu at the sushi bar in his restaurant, East Sushi, located in the Suburban Square shopping center.
To those driving past Tony Yu’s restaurant on Scotch Road, the name East Sushi might imply a menu limited to the usual fare offered by a sushi restaurant.
But that’s not the case — East Sushi offers a wide variety that includes some of the best flavors that Chinese and Japanese cuisines have to offer.
“Although our menu seems to be traditional Japanese and Chinese foods, you can try some exotic sushi as well as familiar favorites,” states the restaurant website. “Our menu is chock full of delicious items to test out whenever you visit us.”
The restaurant originally opened in 2001, and Yu purchased the business in 2003. Yu said that one of the chefs who was working in the kitchen at the restaurant was a friend of his family’s and told him that the business was for sale. Yu decided to buy it after checking out the restaurant scene in the area.
“We came down to look at it,” Yu said. “At the time it was the only sushi place in Ewing, and most of the Chinese places were take out.”
Initially, though, they struggled to get customers to come in for dinner service. “There were a lot of corporations around here and lunch was always busy, but we struggled to bring in business during the evening hours,” Yu said.
“So I tasted everything and changed the menu,” Yu said. “I wanted to understand why dinner was so slow. I talked to every customer. They thought it was only a sushi place — not Chinese food. Sushi wasn’t popular in Ewing at the time.”
He said he worked on, and then implemented, a marketing strategy to promote the variety of offerings on the menu in addition to their sushi dishes, and they “took off” from that point. In 2012, they expanded the menu.
“I realized that Thai food was becoming more and more popular,” Yu said. “I found a chef that knows how to make Thai food. Fusion has become very popular. Now it is very common. I just want to be competitive.”
East Sushi has three chefs, plus two other people in the kitchen and two in the sushi bar. “We have a big kitchen here. The dining room is big too. It is over 30,000 square feet for the whole place,” Yu said.
Yu came to the United States from Mainland China when he was 13 years old and worked in his grandfather’s restaurant in New York City making deliveries on a bicycle.
“I always found part-time jobs in restaurants,” he said. “I grew up in the restaurant business.”
His father, a restaurant owner himself, is now semi-retired. He works at his son’s restaurant three days a week, for which Yu is grateful.
“You never know in the restaurant business,” he said. “You always need a back-up. I’m the back-up for everyone here — delivery, cooking, answering phones, the sushi bar. Owning a restaurant is not an easy job.”
Yu said he stresses the importance of customer service to his staff. “You have to be kind to your customers. You have to make them feel welcome. People feel very comfortable to be here. They are like friends. We have known them for many years.” Some of their customers return once a week, on the same day of the week.
East Sushi also provides catering for birthday parties and corporate events. The restaurant, which seats between 30 and 40 people, accepts reservations and credit cards.
East Sushi is located on 43 Scotch Rd. in Ewing, in the Suburban Square Shopping Center. Lunch is offered Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner is offered from 3 to 9:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 3 to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 4 to 9 p.m. on Sunday. For more information about East Sushi call (609) 771-4499, or go online to eastsushi.net.
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