For most of the shoppers in Brighton’s Meijer, it was a normal midday shopping trip.
For the small crowd of executives and staff of Meijer and Hissho Sushi, the media, and community members gathered in front of the former in-house Starbucks location, it was a celebration. The first-ever Hissho Sushi and Craft Beer Bar inside of a Meijer location was here!
Brighton was selected because it had everything the developers were looking for in terms of demographics and accessibility. Hissho Vice President Brian Kiel and CEO Dan Beem both said that the Sushi and Craft Beer Bar will provide community members with a shopping and restaurant experience under one roof. The current focus is to perfect the concept and experience before taking it into another market whether it be metro Detroit, Michigan, or the other states with Meijer stores.
Hissho Sushi CEO, Dan Beem and Meijer’s Buyer Merchandiser Deli/Prepared Foods, Brad Miller address community members and prepare for ribbon cutting
Hissho Sushi has been the sushi provided for Meijer for the past ten years, which made the partnership for an in-house restaurant a no brainer. The restaurant will be able to seat 25 people and have an extensive menu beyond the sushi rolls Hissho has had available for purchase in Meijer stores.
Meijer locations that sell Hissho sushi have a franchisee with extensive sushi experience prepare and roll in the back of the Deli section. Now shoppers will be able to see the magic happen!
Patric Knapp, one of Hissho’s directors, said that the preparation of all menu items will be under ten minutes. A focus will be placed on assembling meals as quickly and accurately as possible whether people want to dine in or take out. There were plenty of dishes to sample at the grand opening and I can tell you everything was delicious.
The craft beer partnership for the craft beer bar is Bell’s Brewery. Brad Miller, Meijer’s Buyer Merchandiser for Deli & Prepared Foods, said Meijer is very proud to partner with Bell’s. Miller acknowledged the success Bell’s has had as an independent craft brewery in Michigan and beyond. He also said that if the Hissho Sushi concept is successful and more sushi and craft beer bars are to be planned then Meijer would look at breweries that represent the state the Meijer is located to partner with.
Due to licensing issues, there were not any samples of beer available. Once everything comes through, the tap list will be:
In addition to the Bell’s beer, there will be the Hitachino Nest Lager from Kiuchi Brewery in Japan, along with red and white wines from both local wineries along with national and international brands. Shoppers will be unable to take their drinks beyond the restaurant, but Hissho and Meijer are going to be looking into licensing to be able to have a growler filling station, which is available already in a handful of Grand Rapids Meijer stores.
Check this one-of-a-kind sushi and craft beer bar out in Brighton’s Meijer store, which is located at 8650 Grand River Avenue.
Cheers!
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