Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh is opening a restaurant in Cordova. And that’s all he’s going to say about it.
For now.
“I just want everybody to know I do have a restaurant coming up next summer,” Sinh says. “No date on it. Just signed the lease. So, that’s 100 percent guaranteed.”
But his fans have to wait to hear his concept. “The menu and everything like that. I don’t have any of that information at the moment. I should have all the information by next spring.”
So, he’s keeping people in suspense. “We’re still figuring things out now.”
Any hints? “I’m not going to spill the beans.”
Sinh, who has been working out of his Poke Paradise food trailer and his Poke Paradise kitchen/pick-up center at 5310 Crestview Road, says all of that will end when the restaurant opens because he wants to focus on the restaurant. That includes his private dinners and catering. “I need everyone to put in their dates now because May 2024 is my last month taking any type of catering order or any private dinners or weddings and stuff that I do.”
The upcoming restaurant isn’t Sinh’s first rodeo. He owned the popular Sushi Jimmi Asian Fusion restaurant at 2895 Poplar Avenue. He closed that restaurant on May 23, 2019. He said at the time he was burned out and he wanted to spend more time with his family.
That “was a while back,” Sinh says. “And I went through a lot with my old restaurant. So, it’s been a few years and I just feel more comfortable now, looking back. I was going to move, but since we’re here I want to establish another brick and mortar.
“I’m very excited to be honest. I’ve been thinking about it for a while. The food truck is good. But I think I’m ready to get back into brick and mortar.”
Sinh ordered a new 16-by-8-foot food trailer made for his Poke Paradise business. Poke is diced, raw fish served with either a soy base or mayo base.
The food trailer “will be put on the market for sale. And if anybody’s interested, they can contact me. We can even sit down right now.”
Same goes for his Poke Paradise location. “If they want to take over Poke Paradise, they’re welcome to come talk to me about it.”
That goes for all his equipment.
Sinh opened Poke Paradise for business last year. “It’s good. No complaints. I stay busy all year long. I established it just to keep myself here in Memphis and keep myself busy. Nothing like working for yourself. Right?”
The idea to open another restaurant wasn’t sudden, Sinh says. “It hit me around the summer of this year. Because I want to get back in the kitchen. And I want to create something, which will serve Memphis in a good way. And I just think that Memphis needs it really bad. So, I created something that everyone can appreciate. And that’s what I always wanted.”
Sinh believes in reinventing himself. “I’m a chef. So, I’m always up for trying new things. Whatever works works. And you’ve got to take out the stuff that doesn’t work.
“I’m very, very open minded. I like to try new things and I like to perfect my craft. I like to go outside the box and create new things. I even help other people with their restaurants. I train a lot of staff.”
After he closed his first restaurant, Sinh announced he wasn’t going to open another one. “Every chef, every server, every dishwasher, when you’re in the restaurant industry it’s long hours, long weeks.
“You get burned out from time to time. You just have to know when to take a break. If you don’t, it will just kill your team. And that’s what I didn’t want to do. So, I took some time off. And now I’m back.”
Sinh is reachable at 901-604-0058, or online at poke-paradise-106339.square.site.
