いらっしゃいませ !
How it all started...
On February 8, 1989 in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle, WA, our dream of opening our own restaurant was fulfilled after years of planning and preparation. Our lives will never be the same again. Welcome to our home and this is our story...
Natsuyoshi was born in 1950 and raised in Nagano, Japan, the famed Japanese Alps, where he learned to ski almost before he could walk. He grew up in the country, one of twelve children to a family of apple growers. At the age of eighteen, he set off for the big city of Tokyo and embarked on a journey that would transform his life. He worked as a sushi apprentice, and for years learned the skills of a centuries-old art form the old school way. Fifty four years later, sushi is still his passion and his life. It defines the core and center of who he is and he lives and breathes it every day.
Arriving in Seattle in 1984 with friends, he fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and the beautiful city. He met Helen, a UW student working at a restaurant together and married in 1985. The quest began to build a friendly, homey country-style Japanese restaurant where we could share our passion and love for food to friends and family in the neighborhood. After years of searching, we settled on this small place in Lake City. It felt comfortable, it felt like home.
Our mission was to build a place where we could share our delicious dishes, the freshest fish and a warm and cheerful place that would remind us of a simple and unpretentious sushi bar in a country so close to our hearts. What transpired was an amazing life of continuous joy and passion that continues to surpass our wildest expectations each and every day! We are blessed beyond words to have the best people in the world come into our humble place to enjoy dinner with us. It is like having friends and family over for dinner five nights a week. What a wonderful life and blessed dream come true it is!
Thank you for coming into our home and sharing with us your families, children, parents, grandparents, and friends for more than 33 years. We are forever grateful and honored to have you in our lives and to have the opportunity to share our own family with you . Many of you remember and shared the joy of the birth of our children; Tylee in 1991, Yuki in 1993, and Freddie in 1996. In fact, I clearly remember going into labor with all three of my precious children while working in our restaurant! They remain the center of our world and are active in the restaurant today. We remember and honor our beloved late father, Sun Bock Lee who loved to do the books and bus tables, and my late mother Sook Cha, who graciously shared her family recipes with us. They have a special place in the soul and history of our restaurant. We are excited to be planning Toyoda Sushi, the new generation. We are committed to continue the tradition for as long as we are able and then pass down the torch.
Our most heartfelt gratitude and love, dear friends and family, for making Toyoda Sushi a part of your life and more importantly, for being such a big part of ours. It is a pleasure to have you here and we are truly and sincerely grateful. Please enjoy & thank you for sharing your lives and love with us!
With Gratitude and Warmest Thanks,
Natsuyoshi, Helen, Tylee, Yuki & Freddie Toyoda