Thursday, December 17, 2009

Sushi chef lives dream in America

(NOTE: This article originally appeared in the September 24, 2008 edition of Central Michigan Life.)

The American dream is being lived out in the Down Under Food Court.

And it’s not only in the thousands of students who walk through the court.

B Lo, 47, and his wife operate the Sushi Bar in the Down Under Food Court at the Bovee University Center, which supplies CMU’s sushi at shops around campus.

B Lo and his wife, Phoua – Central Michigan University’s exclusive makers of the sushi on campus – are both immigrants from Asia. B Lo emigrated from the country of Laos in southeast Asia.

B Lo’s family fled Laos after the communist North Vietnamese Army occupied Laos during the Vietnam War.

“Our entire family fled because of the communists,” B Lo said. “We just had to get out.”

The Lo family has been operating the sushi bar since spring 2004. Their business is the definition of a family-run business, as Phoua Lo owns the business and she only has one employee, her husband, B. They hand-make all the sushi themselves, and usually B Lo runs the stand.

“It makes managing your work force very easy,” Phoua Lo said.

B Lo has been a sushi chef for several years and says it’s the type of job you have to enjoy if you’re going to do it.

“It’s long hours and long periods of standing and you have to be really fast,” he said.

B Lo’s product is popular in places on campus other than the Down Under Food Court. The Market, which is located in the East Campus Residence Hall Complex, usually sells out of B Lo’s product.

“The sushi sells out typically daily,” said Rapid City senior Jocelyn Menestrina, a team leader at the Market. “A lot of people ask for it, and it sells out quickly on the weekends. The guy (B Lo) who brings it is always cheerful, friendly and always says ‘hi.’”

B Lo’s love for hard work and long hours will be put to the test, as the sushi chores will soon be mostly left to him. He and his wife just gave birth to a son earlier this month.

B Lo says the sushi bar attracts all kinds of customers, crossing all cultural boundaries. The California roll and spicy roll are the most popular dishes, he said.

His favorite part is when people try it and end up liking it more than expected, he said.

“Many times, students wait ’til the end of the semester to try the sushi, but towards the end they get the courage and end up liking it,” he said.

B Lo feels that having a sushi bar makes the university more appealing to prospective students.

“Sushi helps students choose the university. They see the university as being more prestigious after they find out we have a sushi bar,” he said.

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