Rest in peace, Sushirrito. The trendsetting San Francisco sushi burrito brand is shutting down, Sushirrito co-founder Peter Yen announced in a LinkedIn post.
“After an incredible journey building and scaling Sushirrito over the last 15 years (and through COVID in the SF Bay Area, of all places), we’ve made the difficult decision to wind down operations,” Yen wrote in his post. “Building this brand has been one of the most demanding, all-consuming, and rewarding experiences of my life.”
SFGATE reached out to Sushirrito for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Yen first trademarked the Sushirrito name in 2008, and claims to be the inventor of the sushi burrito: a fusion dish of burrito-sized sushi with Japanese and Latin flavors, like the “Sumo Crunch” with imitation crab, shaved cabbage, cucumber, avocado, red tempura flakes and sriracha aioli. Yen, who used to work for a private equity firm that invested in food companies, told Forbes in 2023 that he got the idea for Sushirrito when he noticed that sushi restaurants had not been “fast-casualized.”
After partnering with former Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion chef Ty Mahler, Yen opened the first Sushirrito restaurant in downtown San Francisco in 2011. The tiny, 540-square-foot space was only open for lunch and was takeout-only, but the novel concept took off quickly — lines formed around the block, reported Forbes. Soon after, many similar eateries opened across the country, from Denver to D.C. to Miami.
However, back in 2016, Yen told the Washington Post: “We weren’t trying to start a trend. We simply wanted to create a new type of food that we like to eat. Hybrid foods only make sense when the foods belong together — just because you can do a mash-up, doesn’t mean you should.”
The growing brand expanded to open three other locations in downtown San Francisco and more across the Bay Area, as well as several in New York City. At one point, Sushirrito also had 10 locations as part of a licensing agreement with ghost kitchen Local Kitchens. But after closing a number of restaurants over the past few years, the only remaining location of Sushirrito now appears to be in San Mateo at Colander Kitchens, co-founder Mahler’s new restaurant with five different food concepts inside Draper University. SFGATE reached out to Colander Kitchens to inquire about the future of its Sushirrito menu but did not hear back in in time for publication.
In 2023, Yen and Mahler also debuted a mochi pizza concept called Mochiko Mochi Pizza, but locations in Burlingame and San Francisco have since closed. While Yen hinted at a “next chapter” in his LinkedIn post, he didn’t share any details, instead focusing on his gratitude for everyone who was part of Sushirrito.
“I am deeply grateful to the team who worked tirelessly alongside me, the investors who believed in our vision, and the customers who supported us,” continued Yen’s LinkedIn post. “While closing a chapter is never easy, I’m walking away with a wealth of hard-earned lessons, lots of crazy stories, a network of amazing people, and a ton of gratitude for the journey.”