Food truck putting down Wayzata rootsIt's officially a trend, because another food truck is making the leap into a permanent restaurant.
This time around it's Sushi Fix (www.sushifix.net). Owner Enkhbileg ("Billy") Tserenbat just signed a lease on the downtown Wayzata storefront that was most recently home to Black's Ford (682 E. Lake St.). The restaurant, scheduled for a January opening, will feature a 10-seat sushi bar and table seating for 25.
Tserenbat launched Sushi Fix earlier this summer -- the Midwest's first mobile sushi operation -- and it quickly became a major crowd magnet at the Marquette Avenue food truck court in downtown Minneapolis.
Tserenbat was born in Mongolia, and spent his teenage years in San Francisco. A classmate's father owned a sushi bar, "and that's where we hung out, and that's where I decided that it would be cool to be a sushi chef," he said.
He moved to Minnesota nearly 12 years ago, becoming a familiar face among sushi aficionados at places ranging from Fuji Ya in Minneapolis to Yumi's Sushi Bar in Excelsior.
Sushi Fix-ers know firsthand that Tserenbat is a stickler for quality and freshness (and not to worry, downtowners: He's keeping the truck). He sources his seafood directly from purveyors and markets in Hawaii and Japan, and his work day starts with a 5:30 a.m. airport run.
Closings and openingsNews from the Northland: Nokomis Restaurant & Bar (5593 North Shore Dr., 1-218-525-2286, www.nokomisonthelake.com) in Duluth is calling it quits.
"It has been a good run," said chef/co-owner Sean Lewis. "I think we've made the culinary scene a little bit brighter. We had seven great years, and we've decided that it's a good time to finish, and go out while we're on top."
