The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper Photograph by Skye Dunlap Kunio Akabori serves up a dish at Sushi Kuni. Eighty percent of the restaurant's customers represent repeat business. Japanese-style comfort permeates Sushi Kuni By Pam Marino In Japan, Kunio Akabori's family owns restaurants, so it's no wonder owning a restaurant was the sushi chef's dream. But not just any restaurant, it had to be like restaurants in Japan--small, intimate, perfect for families. Akabori found just the right place in Cupertino on De Anza Boulevard in 1994, in a former home that had been renovated into a deli and hamburger place. Akabori transformed the little house into a sushi restaurant called Sushi Kuni ("kuni" means "country" in Japanese). It feels just like sitting in someone's Japanese-style home, which just happens to have a sushi bar to one side. "He wanted someplace small to keep in closer contact with his clients," said Steve Futagaki, a Sushi Kuni chef who helped translate during a recent interview. Most local restaurant space, Akabori added, is just too big. Akabori was trained as a sushi chef in Japan; he came to America to work in Los Angeles. He has a brother who lives in this area, Toshio Akabori, owner of Tokyo Subway in Menlo Park, so Akabori settled here. He worked at Kitihama's, also on De Anza Boulevard, and at Seto Sushi in Santa Clara, but he said he was convinced the only way to get ahead was to open his own restaurant, which led to Sushi Kuni. "His approach is he likes to serve high-quality fresh fish, but also to present it at a reasonable price," said Futagaki, who recently returned from a six-month stint working at one of Wolfgang Puck's restaurants in Las Vegas. The food itself is stunning to look at, artfully arranged for customers. In addition to the regular menu, which features standard Japanese fare like tempura and teriyaki, there are special boards that are changed daily, one in Japanese and one in English. What's on the boards depends on what fish is available each day. The restaurant offers a wide variety of sushi, from tuna to salmon to crab and beyond. One of the most ordered items is the Chirashi Sushi, a bowl of sushi, vegetables and rice, priced at $12.75. The restaurant also features bento boxes, Japanese lunch boxes, with two choices of entrees for $6.75. Individual servings of sushi range anywhere from $2.50 to $5. Customers who have found Sushi Kuni are loyal; Futagaki estimates that 80 percent of the restaurant's customers represent return business. A wide variety of local residents come to Sushi Kuni to eat, as well as visiting Japanese business people. On weekends the restaurant hosts lots of families who come back again and again, Akabori said. For two years in a row now, Sushi Kuni has provided the food at the annual opera at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. The growing popularity of the small restaurant in a former home is fulfilling Akabori's dream. Sushi Kuni is located at 10211 S. De Anza Blvd., Cupertino, 257-KUNI (5864). Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Mondays through Fridays, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays. The restaurant is closed Sundays. [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, October 14, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.