Jimmy Nguyen has achieved his lifelong dream of owning a restaurant – twice.
Nguyen co-owns Rice Monkeys on Main Avenue, which he opened with Dung Tran and Ezrick Villuferte in 2012.
“We would always daydream and talk about owning a restaurant,” Nguyen said. “You never really think it will be a reality.”
Now, he is opening Pop Sushi, a 74-seat Japanese restaurant at 42 Florida Road (County Road 240), Unit 400.
The casual fine-dining restaurant Plate previously occupied the space before closing June 30 after a little more than a year in business.
“We always talked about going bigger for Rice Monkeys, but every time we had a chance to do it on Main Avenue, it was so expensive,” Nguyen said. “Here, we have a chance. The owner of Plate gave us a good price here.”
Nguyen is a Texas native with 13 years of experience as a chef.
He moved to Durango eight years ago from Pensacola, Florida, as a traveling sushi chef.
He in part credits his Durango patrons for his decision to stick around.
“I’d spend three months here, three months there,” he said. “I traveled to explore the country to see where I wanted to live forever. The customers here are amazing.”
He said customers in Durango are considerate and immensely supportive of his business.
“Rice Monkeys is a small restaurant, but they notice we provide great service and they can see we are hard workers,” Nguyen said. “It gives us leverage in case we have a bad day. They understand we are still working hard and trying hard, and they keep coming back.”
After the inspiration to open Pop Sushi struck, Nguyen immediately contacted veteran chef Ray Srisamer to join his team as executive chef.
“I knew chef Ray was looking to move to Durango, so it worked out perfectly,” Nguyen said.
Originally from Thailand, Srisamer has 26 years of experience as a sushi chef, with a specialty in sashimi preparation. Prior to working at Pop Sushi, Srisamer was living in Boulder.
Srisamer took Nguyen under his wing and acted as his mentor when they met in 2010.
“I really learned a lot from Ray,” Nguyen said. “He took my skill to the next level. He is a chef with precision, and very clean and professional. I’ve always looked up to him to make my skills better.”
Nguyen describes Pop Sushi as a Japanese tapas restaurant. He hopes the vibe and decor will set it apart from other businesses in Durango.
“This place will have a large variety of drinks, appetizers and sushi,” he said. “We will play loud, urban music. Most places in Durango have a rustic feel, so I created a sushi bar that I would really enjoy myself.”
Nguyen emphasized that Pop Sushi is not an extension of Rice Monkeys; instead, it has its own unique menu with dishes such as ramen.
“We are trying to go Japanese,” he said. “We don’t sell ramen at Rice Monkeys. We wanted something to really set us apart.”
The menu is about 40 percent Nguyen’s creation and 60 percent Srisamer’s, and includes some of their favorite dishes.
“We try to share with our customers the food that we really like,” Srisamer said.
He is looking forward to serving sashimi, a Japanese delicacy consisting of very fresh raw fish sliced into thin pieces.
“Everything is exciting, but especially the sashimi,” Srisamer said. “We will be making very vibrant sashimi dishes, sort of combining European and Japanese styles to make something different.”
Still, there is a chance the menu could change in upcoming months. “The menu will be continuously tweaked because we need to see how this kitchen flows,” Nguyen said. “In four months, we could have a totally different menu.”
Some might wonder how a restaurant based around raw fish can thrive in the land-locked mountain town of Durango. Nguyen said they pay a higher price to have the fish delivered nonstop from locations such as Hawaii.
“We pay to fly the fish into Denver, and then a truck takes it to Montrose and then to Durango nonstop,” he said. “For the options we have, the quality of fish here is great.”
Pop Sushi has its soft opening on Monday, followed by a grand opening on Friday.
“Our mission is to cater to the locals, and hopefully, they will bring their families,” Nguyen said.
mrupani@durangoherald.com
