A new hibachi and sushi restaurant opened in the Germantown/Schnitzelburg area earlier this month. Jaymar Japanese Grill & Sushi, located at 1039 Ash St., opened May 9. The restaurant occupies a space of more than 1,900 square feet, which was previously divided between Six Forks Burger Co. and Earlybird Bagel Shop.
Jaymar Japanese Grill & Sushi is operated by a group of brothers — Ezekiel Lopez, Jose Lopez, Caesar Lopez and Saddam Sanchez. Although originally from Mexico, the brothers have decades of experience with sushi. Ezekiel worked at Sake Blue for nearly 14 years, and one of his brothers worked at Sapporo.
The brothers operated Jaymar Sushi in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, for three years before relocating to Louisville. Ezekiel said the family moved to Louisville because Saddam had health issues being treated at a local hospital, and they appreciated that Louisville offered a larger market. Jaymar Japanese Grill & Sushi offers hibachi lunch specials, a variety of sushi, ramen, and even Chinese-inspired entrees like fried rice. Prices range from $5.95 to $27.95.
The restaurant’s signature dish is the Michael Jackson Roll, which features creamy crab and fried shrimp topped with kani crab and coconut flakes. The brothers worked with Raphael Collazo of Summit Commercial Group to find the Schnitzelburg location at the intersection of Hickory and Ash streets. The property is owned by Hollkamp CRE LLC, according to Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator records. Since the restaurant owners speak limited English, Collazo acted as a translator during an interview with Louisville Business First.
Collazo said it took time to find the right location.
“We had been looking for a while for them, and we looked at some spaces. The challenge was finding a space that was already built out, because, you know, the build-out costs are just absurd,” Collazo said. “And then this building became available. We took them out here to check it out, and everything was already kind of in place. Then they saw the area and noticed there were restaurants nearby, so they thought it would be a good fit.”
The brothers invested about $90,000 to open the restaurant, which has seven employees. They painted the space, renovated the bathrooms, and upgraded the kitchen. Jaymar Japanese Grill & Sushi is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., except on Sundays, when it closes at 9:30 p.m.
For the full article, click here.