A huge Japan-based conveyor belt sushi chain is opening its only American restaurant in New York City. Sushiro will open in Times Square at 667 Eighth Avenue at West 42nd Street, next to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, this fall.
Sushiro’s NYC location will serve what it describes as affordably priced sushi, noodle soups like ramen and somen, and steamed egg custards, as well as desserts such as catalana (a creme brulee-like custard), warabimochi (mochi often dipped in powders and/or syrup), and sherbets.
The NYC 9,000 square foot, 170-seat restaurant takes up three floors of the Eighth Avenue address (formerly a McDonald’s). The main conveyor belt dining rooms are on the first and second floors, with a private dining room in the cellar with a sushi bar. Sushiro was founded in Osaka in 1984, and since then, it has grown with over 800 locations across the world, operating under parent company Food & Life Companies, according to a rep.
At Sushiro, people seated in booths order through digital kiosks, then pick up their drinks and dishes on the belt that threads from the kitchen to the dining room.
The business had been teasing its American debut with pop-ups in the past couple of years. (There was a similarly named Sushiro location from 2015 to around 2017, but the rep notes that it wasn’t related to the Japanese company.)
Sushiro is one of the bigger conveyor belt sushi companies, making its mark in NYC. Another Japan-based chain, Kura Sushi, opened in Jersey City in 2022, followed by Flushing in 2023, especially now, during a time when more restaurants are looking to automation.