On a Roll — Human Connection through Sustainable Sushi

Explore how Blue Sushi Sake Grill location created a dining experience that brought an outdoor garden experience indoors.

By Brandi Koloski

Creating a more Conscious Earth through sustainable sushi, Blue Sushi Sake Grill has officially opened their second Kansas City location in the Power & Light District. Part of the Flagship Restaurant group, the newest Kansas City location marks the 20th Blue Sushi Sake Grill location, which aims to bring an outdoor garden experience indoors. With its impressive selection of sushi and sake, as well as a variety of other Japanese-inspired dishes, Blue Sushi Sake Grill has something to offer everyone.

Building the Feeling

Being Blue Sushi's 20th location, the restaurant has been through a handful of iterations throughout the years. When considering the journey of the restaurant, "This particular design for Blue is probably around version 5.0 or 6.0. We are continually trying to evolve what we are doing and add in new elements" said owner and architect by trade, Tom Allisma.

Keeping in line with existing Blue Sushi locations, the moody main floor utilizes lighting features like inset blue LED lights and a large orange lantern statement piece to play into the brand's color identity. Additional moments of contrast are created using our Sadie II Chairs which feature a backrest in our Natural wood finish, paired with the contrasting Ink Black metal finish on the base of the chair. 

RELATED: Learn more about our Upholstery Partners.

Allisma and his team envisioned the 20th Blue Sushi location to mimic an outdoor garden — but indoors! The second floor of the restaurant is where the vision comes to life with statement features like a substantial 24'x10' skylight that sheds natural light from 27 feet overhead, to the mixture of vegetation and vines that breathes additional life into the space. 

Furthering their commitment to building a garden feel, you will find outdoor patio furniture, specifically the Bowen Pedestal Tables and Opla Outdoor Chairs,  used in the second-floor space of Blue Sushi Sake Grill. Serving as the perfect complement to their existing brand palette, the furniture features a delightful Sky Blue metal finish coupled with a contrasting orange upholstered seat cushion. For Allisma, comfort and durability are at the top of his mind when specifying furniture.

"In my architecture career, I actually taught a furniture design course at a university for 10 years in the Architecture and Interior Design Department. So, a lot of students would want to design chairs — I've gone through that exercise many, many times. There's a sweet spot that a lot of times is missed by some of these bigger companies — but you guys have done a really good job with the comfort levels and everything. The construction is ultimately bulletproof." - Tom Allisma, AIA / President/Architect/Owner, Flagship Restaurant Group

Food with a Conscious

Blue Sushi Sake Grill believes that sushi is meant to be shared — so their menu encourages it! Their menu focuses on building avenues to explore not only the sushi favorites that we all know and love but also sake and other Asian-inspired bites in new and delightfully unexpected ways.

In addition to encouraging cuisine exploration and human connection, Blue Sushi Sake Grill is on an endless pursuit to make positive waves in our oceans by transforming the food system. The restaurant has partnered with numerous preservation groups to create the Conscious Earth Program which aims to educate — giving the tools and knowledge to make better and more informed decisions on how seafood and meat can be responsibly sourced on both land and in the sea. The Conscious Earth Program gives a real-time and transparent view of Blue Sushi Sake Grill's responsibly caught and raised supply chain. 

We raise our cups to Blue Sushi Sake Grill and say 'Kanpai' (the traditional word for 'cheers' in Japanese)! We can't wait to see their 21st location! Did you love seeing Sadie II in this space? Check out Sadie II in orange at Veggie Grill!

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