CHEF TAKA MORIUCHI

A Sushi Story

Coming to America

Taka Moriuchi always dreamed of coming to America.

After graduating from high school, he worked as a sales rep for a shoe retail company called Ginza Esperanza. He went on to become a manager and merchandiser for the company, designing pumps and often traveling to Europe.

Eventually, he left the shoe company and bought a Tokyo convenience store, but that venture didn’t last long. Out of 240,000 US green card applicants, Taka’s application was selected.

On February 15, 1995, his dream of coming to America became reality when he arrived in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Art of Sushi

Taka’s first job in the US was as the assistant manager at Kobe Steaks, where his responsibilities ranged from washing dishes and bussing tables to greeting guests.

Taka quickly realized that sushi was becoming popular in America, so he left his management position to learn the craft of sushi-making.

He began practicing the art of sushi at Soto in 1995. He stayed on with the flourishing restaurant for 4 years before partnering with Kevin Rathbun to open Bluepointe in 1999.

By 2002, Taka started his own restaurant called Taka Sushi Café.

Inspiration Strikes

Inspired by “Copacabana,” Barry Manilow’s famous song, in which he sings “music and passion were always the fashion” — Taka rebranded his Taka Sushi Café as Taka sushiandpassion.

Sushi and Passion

Today, Chef Taka Moriuchi’s Japanese restaurant is well-known in Sandy Springs and throughout metro Atlanta.

Friends, couples, businesspeople and first dates walk through the door every day for lunch and dinner. Taka’s restaurant is also popular with celebrities like John Travolta, The Dixie Chicks, Kiss, Matt Kuchar, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald, Dallas Austin, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more.

They come for the fresh fish. They come for the passion. Sushi and passion are always the fashion at Taka’s restaurant.