West End Bamboo Sushi Releases First Concept-Bending Details and Opening Date

After the news of Bamboo Sushi's forthcoming West End location broke, owner Kristofor Lofgren stayed tight-lipped on specifics, but now the sustainable-sushi restaurant is ready to reveal its new concept and opening date. Located at SW 12th and Stark, the fourth Bamboo Sushi will open December 17 for dinner, and on January 4, it will add a lunch, becoming the first Bamboo location to offer noontime hours. Importantly, the menu will mark another first, blending both sushi and izakaya, aka Japanese small plates.

"We're bringing back the izakaya dishes that customers have been asking for," says Brandon Hill, director of operations at Bamboo. Bamboo served an all-izakaya-all-of-the-time menu at its NE Alberta location when it originally opened in 2014, but the location switched to sushi-only after just six months and a lot of confused customers. So expect to be able to get the full sushi menu as well as a greatest-hits version of the izakaya menu (with some additions, of course).

While still under construction, the space will have a similar Tokyo-izakaya-den atmosphere to the NE Alberta location, and the 2600-square-foot interior seats around 64. The huge windows on two sides of the restaurant fully roll to the side, meaning the restaurant will have a very open-air vibe in the summers, with 18 seats along the sidewalk. There's also a rooftop, but if it opens, it will likely be summer 2016 or 2017.

Bamboo Sushi is drawing staff from all of its locations to run the restaurant, and it is making one big addition: Jels McCaulay, who worked at Andina for over ten years—most recently as general manager—will assume the roll of general manger at Bamboo Sushi. Like the other Bamboo Sushi locations, it will also offer delivery via Postmates, the service that delivers anywhere, whether a park bench or office cubical.

Stayed tuned for more as it develops.

Photo: Construction as it stands at the forthcoming West End Bamboo Sushi.