Tag: Sushi Jimmi

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Sushi Jimmi Joins Saltwater Crab

Jimmy Sinh


Sushi Jimmi — the man not the restaurant — will become chef/kitchen manager at Saltwater Crab.


Jimmy “Sushi Jimmi” Sinh, owner of the now defunct Sushi Jimmi Asian fusion restaurant at 2895 Poplar, will become chef/kitchen manager at Saltwater Crab beginning January 15th, says owner Gary Lin.

Saltwater Crab, which opened in July, serves a range of fare from seafood to steaks. It also served sushi. “I took sushi away and people complained,” Lin says. “They wanted more sushi. I needed somebody hard working in the kitchen to take it to a different level.”

Why Sinh? “A lot of people in the whole city know him,” Lin says. And, he added, “All my servers, bartenders, know him. They wanted me to bring him back.”

Sinh initially closed Sushi Jimmi on May 23rd, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. He said he put too much money ($250,000) into the restaurant, though he says it was successful. He planned to move to Florida, but his family didn’t want to let the restaurant go. He reopened Sushi Jimmi June 15th, but it closed for a second time at the end of July.

“I just shut my restaurant down,” Sinh says. “I didn’t want to be bothered for a while. I spent six months in someone else’s kitchen, just trying to get my mind straight for a little while. I wanted a little more time with my family. Gary approached me about two weeks ago and we talked about it.”

Sinh will bring back sushi favorites from Sushi Jimmi, but he says he also will be in charge of the entire Saltwater Crab menu. “I’ll be tweaking the menu. Redoing everything. Making it better.”

A Sushi Jimmi steak? “Mine is not just a salt-and-pepper steak. Mine is more well seasoned. A lot thicker. A thick cut of meat. I want the quality to be better.” Sinh added, “I want a very strong team. In about three weeks we want to come out strong and we want to give Memphis something to remember.”

That will include “great atmosphere, live music,” he says. “We’re thinking about doing live music — more specials, more drinks. We’re going to give Memphis everything they want. It’s going to be a very stressful three weeks. I’m going to be sleepless. But it’s good for you. I’m a chef. We’re going to start 2020 off with Sushi Jimmi back in town.”

Saltwater Crab is located at 2059 Madison.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Sushi Jimmi Will Close at the End of July

Sushi Jimmi is closing — again.

The Asian fusion restaurant at 2895 Poplar that originally closed May 23rd and reopened June 15th will close down at the end of July, says Jimmy Sinh, the original owner/chef of the restaurant.

“This is actually for real this time,” Sinh says. “I’ve already made up my mind.”

Sinh closed the restaurant in May to spend more time with his family. And he says he put too much of his own money into the restaurant, which was successful. He says he put a quarter of a million dollars into the business.

He planned to move to Florida, but his family didn’t want to let the restaurant go.

Sushi Jimmi reopened in June with Sinh’s brother, David Sinh, as the new owner, and Jimmy as head chef. But David felt he wasn’t getting much business, Jimmy says. “I told him that business takes a minute.”

But, he says, “I guess he feels like he’s not making money. He just started back up for two weeks. You can’t expect it to be slamming busy. A lot of people have stuff planned out.”

He doesn’t want to “put the pressure” on David, Jimmy says. “He wants to do his own thing. His own restaurant. Which he picks out. Not something that’s been passed down to him. He wants to do his own thing.”

Jimmy also found out he had a lot of responsibility, including dealing with his staff, as head chef. “I just want to end it so I can start over. I’m going to be temporarily working somewhere else. Not sure yet.

“I’m freed up by the end of this month. Whoever wants good help, I’ll be able to help them throughout the year.“

He plans to continue catering parties, including his regular gigs. “I’ll be moving from different kitchens. I’ll fill in spots for people, and that’s what I’ll be doing. I know a lot of restaurants need good help. I wouldn’t mind helping out. I have skills to do any work any restaurant needs.”

Jimmy and his wife and five children, including their newborn, are going to relocate to Florida, he says. “We’re going to be saving up some money so that we can move.”

He and his wife are already pricing houses in Florida to see what will fit in their budget. “I’m moving to Florida next June. I got about a year.

“I just want to spend more time with my family. Not just family and kids, but be with my mom and dad, too,” he says.


Michael Donahue

Jimmy Sinh

Categories
We Recommend We Saw You

Music Comings and Goings: Alexis Grace, Thomas Bergstig, FreeSol, Andrew Smith. And Sushi Jimmi Returns!

CREDIT: Michael Donahue

Michael Donahue

Alexis Grace and Thomas Bergstig

If you think you recently saw Alexis Grace around town, you’re right. The Memphis singer, actor, and “American Idol” finalist who moved to Los Angeles with her husband, Thomas Bergstig, in 2017 is back in Memphis. For a while.

“We’re here temporarily,” says Grace. “We came back because of family circumstances.”

Her daughter, Ryan Zabielski, 12, was injured in a car accident. “We did a Go Fund Me (and raised) $15,000 in four days for us to move back so quickly so she could go to rehab.”

Zabielski is “fully recovered from her accident,” says Grace, who says she and Bergstig plan to be in Memphis “right now until December.”

A native Memphian, Grace was a finalist who came in 11th place on season eight of TV’s “American Idol.” For eight years, she was a Memphis deejay on Q-107 FM.

Bergstig, who is from Sweden, is the former music director at Playhouse on the Square. He and Isaac Middleton are the tap-dancing-musical-instrument-playing performers in Swedish Jam Factory.

Grace is working with film productions in Memphis. She played Kellie Pickler’s stand-in in the Hallmark Films production of Christmas at Graceland and she played the part of Pickler’s wedding cake baker in Hallmark’s Wedding at Graceland. “Here’s the funny thing: Kellie is also from ‘American Idol.’ So, we have a lot of similarities in our career and stuff.”

Grace is excited about the film and TV opportunities in Memphis, including the Bluff City Law series, which is filming in Memphis.

She’d love to be a part of that series. “I know a lot of people in town are happy that happened because now they have work. I think it’s really important the city knows about these productions providing work for artists and people who work in the industry right now.

“Take me, for example. I moved out to Los Angeles because I needed to find more work as an artist, as an actor, as a singer. It’s very hard to find work here in the city that sustains a whole family. It really is. Unionized type of work.

“So, the fact that a lot of people who work in the film industry in town travel to work in other cities when they want to be a part of big productions to make money and things, the fact the series and Hallmark are coming here I know so many people who are like, ‘Thank you.’ It’s a really big deal.”

Grace loves living in Los Angeles. “It took about a year. I hated the first year. Well, I miss my family. I’m a big family person and it was weird to not be able to run to my mom’s house if I want to see her. And family get-togethers.”

It’s more expensive to live in L.A., but, she says, “The opportunities that are there are endless in any line of work ‘cause it’s such a big city. But especially entertainment. If you work hard and you’re talented and creative and you’ve got a go-getter personality and you put yourself out there, it will work itself out. It just takes time.”

Grace did a lot of background singing for TV shows in L.A. “And that was thanks to ‘American Idol.’ Because I was a contestant on that show I made a lot of contacts with musicians and vocalists and arrangers. When I moved to L.A. I let them know I was in town. I did a gig with Katy Perry at the Hollywood Bowl, just singing background.”

Swedish Jam Factory will be working on a full-length show this summer, Bergstig says. “We’re creating our show, actually,” he says. “We’re building a full-length show that we can do in theaters.

“The longest we’ve done is 30 minutes. We’re building something more like 70 minutes. It’ll be a lot of tap dancing incorporated with folk music, classical music, electronic music.”

Will Grace and Bergstig stay in Memphis? “You can act and perform anywhere, but if you want to do that for a living, it’s very helpful to live in a place where you can make a living by doing that. Plus, the weather is amazing.You do miss thunderstorms every now and then.”

But will they remain in LA? “Seriously, I feel like at my age and the career that I chose it’s still a little hard to say I’m going to stay in one place forever,” Grace says. “You never know where you’re going to. You never know what your next phone call is going to be.”


Michael Donahue

FreeSol – back in Memphis.

FreeSol is back in Memphis. He has been living in California since 2012.

He’s lead singer of the alternative soul band also known as FreeSol, which formed in 2003.

“Soon as we got dropped from this record deal — Interscope and Tennman Records, Justin Timberlake’s label — I bounced to Cali,” says Free. “‘Cause I always wanted to be in Cali. You know me and Cali have something special. I really wanted to be out there. I went out there to re-find myself.”

He was “let down by the whole record deal.”

“We received a call on a Monday that we were No. 1 priority of Interscope. By that Friday

were dropped. Just some political stuff.”

And, he says, “FreeSol wasn’t a free soul. I had to escape out West. I felt trapped”

In California, FreeSol says he’s been “learning how to breathe. Meditate. Calm down and not chase things so much. It’s like a ‘finding myself-type situation’ right now. I felt like I learned more about what I am. And who I am.”

Now, he’s “chasing a lifestyle and philosophy rather than finance, riches, and fame.”

He’s been able to “live in the moment with happiness.”

FreeSol learned about the marijuana industry while in California. “I just recently got a company called Sweet Cali. A partner and I took it over. It’s been a business since 2014. We’re slowly building that up.”

Sweet Cali is “an edible line. We’re focusing on turning it into more of a lifestyle brand from clothes to CBDs, anything related to marijuana.”

FreeSol never stopped performing, but he says, “I feel like I want to make music again. I want to to do it here. There’s an energy pulling me back home. A lot of love for me. I feel something coming in this direction.”

And, he says, “I’m happy to see so much excitement. So many people doing cool things. So many artists being supportive. I want to be a part of it.”


Michael Donahue

Andrew Smith on guitar with Bailey Bigger…..

Michael Donahue

….and then lap steel…..

Michiael Donahue

…..and back to guitar.

Andrew Smith, former creative director at Highpoint Church, and his wife, Jordan, recently moved to Nashville, where, he says, he’s “pursuing the music thing.”

If you were at the Hear 901 festival back in April at The Bluff, you probably noticed Smith, 25, who moved from instrument to instrument on stage. He backed Bailey Bigger on her set at the show, which featured University of Memphis music students.

“I was playing electric guitar on a couple of songs,” says Smith. “I switched over to lap steel. It was funny. When we made the set list I was thinking of all the changes I had to do, flip flop every single song. It was fun, man. Her songs are great. Her songs are super cool. She’s really talented.”

Smith isn’t a U of M student; he’s a 2015 graduate of Visible Music College.

 “I haven’t really been playing lap steel that long. I got a lap steel for my birthday back in November. I locked myself in my room and tried to learn songs and basic chords I could play with my friends. I played a show around Christmas time with Ben Callicott. Old News. With Kyle and Harrison Neblett. All of those guys are so good.”

Smith, who is from Kansas, began playing guitar when he was 10. “It was because of the iconic scene in Back to the Future when Michael J. Fox grabs that red Gibson 355 and just rips out ‘Johnny B. Goode.’”

He knew it had to be guitar for his first musical instrument. “I knew guitar was way cooler than piano or whatever. I was a little kid. You think like that. I wanted to be [Marty McFly]

in ‘Back to the Future’ and play guitar.’”

Why the Nashville move? “No kids. No mortgage or anything like that. We just wanted to have a little bit of adventure.”

He plans to make trips back to Memphis. “We both have family back in Memphis and definitely will be coming back and forth. I actually still am part of the band I play with called ‘Junior Year.’ Josh Maze, worship pastor at Highpoint, is the front man. We’ll continue to do shows in Memphis as they come up.”

It was “bittersweet to leave Memphis.” But, Smith says, “I’m definitely not going to be a stranger to the 901.”

Michael Donahue

Andrew Smith

……………..
Michael Donahue

Jimmy Sinh and his brother, David Sinh, toast during the grand re-opening of Sushi Jimmi Asian fusion restaurant.


In honor of International Sushi Day – June 18th, raise a glass, and toast Sushi Jimmi, the Asian fusion restaurant that re-opened with a buffet dinner June 15th.

Fans showed Sushi Jimmi some love, and loved them some sushi at the grand re-opening at the restaurant at 2895 Poplar.

Gustavo Gomez, 20, didn’t know it was the grand re-opening. He didn’t know the restaurant was, again, open for business.

“I just got off work,” says Gomez, who delivers pizzas for Little Italy restaurant. “I was passing by going home and I saw people there. I knew it was closed. Man, so sad. Then I see lights and I see people there. I was like, ‘Oh, why don’t I just stop here and see what happened?’ ‘Cause I used to go there a lot.”

He went twice a month before the restaurant closed May 23rd, Gomez says. The rolls are big and the prices are reasonable, he says.

And, Gomez says, “It’s just a cool place to hang out with friends and stuff.”

The Big Boy is Gomez’s go-to sushi roll. “It’s crab and some type of fish and it has this spicey sauce. It’s one of the big ones. I’ve tried other ones, but I always go with that.”

Jimmy Sinh, former owner now head chef, planned to close the restaurant and move to Florida, but his family didn’t want to let the place go. And Sinh already put a lot of money in the restaurant.

Jimmy and his brother, David Sinh, the new owner, and the staff toasted with champagne. Everyone gathered at the front of the restaurant for the bubbly and good wishes.

Michael Donahue

Sushi Jimmi regular Gustavo Gomez was at the grand re-opening.

Michael Donahue

Sushi Jimmi regulars Regan Dickerson and Jaylen Roach were at the restaurant’s grand re-opening.

Michael Donahue

Sushi at Sushi Jimmi’s grand re-opening.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Sushi Jimmi to Close

CREDIT: MIchael Donahue

MIchael Donahue

Sushi Jimmi is closing.

For good. Right after dinner on May 23rd. Chef/owner Jimmy Sinh’s red Sushi Jimmi food truck will be in operation May 24th, but that will be the last time. The Asian fusion restaurant at 2895 Poplar — and the food truck — will be history.

Sinh, 30, says he is getting out of the restaurant business because he wants to spend more time with his wife, May, and their five sons: Dylan, Logan, Alex, Jimmy, and their almost two-month old, Kit.

“My happiness is number one,” Sinh says. “I’m just quitting for the time being. Taking a little break.” Sinh was wearing a black T-shirt bearing the words “Sushi Jimmi” in red. “I just ordered 100 T-shirts. I’m going to sell them,” he said.

Sinh said deciding to close the restaurant was sad, but the decision also “took a big weight off [his] shoulders.”

The restaurant, which opened three years ago, was a “huge success,” he says, but other things led to his decision to close it. For one thing, Sinh says, “I was putting too much of my own money into the business.” He says he recently had to repair — for the second time — his walk-in cooler, which needed a new motor and fans. “I threw away $13,000 worth of food.”

Sinh also says he put $200,000 into the restaurant’s building, which used to be a Wendy’s. He put in a new floor, took out the front of the building and built a new one.

Sinh, who grew up in Binghampton, has worked since he was 16. He began his food truck five years ago and the restaurant two years later. Now, he says, “I’m burned out.”

Sinh says he’ll be available if someone needs “a good chef,” and says he’s gotten offers. Sinh also plans to start a YouTube cooking show, “Chef Jimmi.”

His advice to someone who wants to start a food truck business?

“Don’t depend on anyone. Don’t do everything at once. Do it step-by-step. Make sure you have the right crew. Never use your own money. You’ll end up hurting your family and yourself. Help yourself before you help others.

And, finally, he adds: “If you don’t feel happy, stop. I stopped before I hated it. You don’t want to lose what you fell in love with.”

Michael Donahue

Jimmy Sinh

Michael Donahue

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Sushi Jimmi To Open Restaurant, etc.

Sushi Jimmi‘s Jimmy Sinh confirmed plans for a new restaurant at the old Wendy’s on Poplar across the street from Senses. 

He hope to have the restaurant open by October or November. 

Sinh says the restaurant’s menu will be the same as the food truck, but there will be more wiggle room. He envisions having a Taco Tuesday or throwing in specials like fajitas. 

Sinh is also starting a second food truck that will serve Vietnamese sandwiches (!). He hasn’t settled on a name for the venture yet, but he’s been busy training staff, so expect to see it on the road soon.

• Pink Diva Cupcakery and Cuisine is switching its focus and will now concentrate on catering and its food truck. The restaurant on Florida is now closed. 

Pink Diva’s Cassi Conyers says she hopes to have the food truck operating in the next month. She says that traffic to the restaurant was often slow. With the truck, she can go to the traffic. 

Also in the works is a vegan cupcake mix. She says a mix is much easier to ship than a cupcake. 

“I’m taking it in a new direction,” says Conyers of Pink Diva. “In the last year and a half, I’ve accomplished a lot.” 

Pink Diva caters corporate events, birthday parties, etc. More info here. 

• Frost Bake Shop will hold a ribbon cutting for its second location in Collierville at 1016 W. Poplar on Tuesday, August 16th, 11:30 a.m.

The new shop is considerably bigger than the East Memphis location, and there are plans for classes as well as private parties in the space. 

• Celtic Crossing recently announced some changes, including the installation of a new mosquito repellant system (!). 

They also have a couple new menu items (Irish nachos!), a seasonal wine menu, and a new manager, Christopher Darling, who has an eye toward efficiency.