Meet our latest RESTAURATEUR OF THE QUARTER: Hitoshi Yuhara, our client who recently purchased Shiku Sushi in La Jolla
Meet our Restaurateur of the Quarter: Hitoshi Yuhara, our client who recently purchased Shiku Sushi in La Jolla from Restaurant Realty. Although Hitoshi was studying to be a psychologist, he found himself gravitating toward his job in the food and beverage industry. “It’s one of the most candid settings that you can be in with others,” he said. “Dealing with staff and guests, bringing all those personalities together was something that I fell in love with.”
He stuck with the industry and landed his first management role at just 21 years old at a restaurant in his hometown of Los Angeles. Over the years he worked at different restaurants, and at the end of 2014 moved to Las Vegas and joined Caesars Palace. He started at Bacchanal Buffet and five months later moved over to Old Homestead Steakhouse. “I’m responsible for managing the culture here, and that’s something that’s huge within food and beverage at Caesars Palace—building a positive culture.”
In the last 15 years of managing restaurants, here is Hitoshi’s track record: at Caesars Palace, he was 1 of 5, out of 400 managers, to be selected to complete the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification program. Every business he managed as a general manager, there has seen growth in both revenues and EBITDA. At Old Homestead Steakhouse, he was able to increase revenues by over 22% from $12.7 million to $15.5 million, while increasing EBITDA by over 47.95% over 3 years. At Rok Sushi, he increased revenues by over 49% from $1.54 million to $2.3 million in a period of one and a half years. At Shutters on the Beach Hotel, he implemented a food program in the Hotel Lobby Lounge which added no additional labor costs and saw a 120% year over year growth in revenues within the first 3 months.
Hitoshi has been a part of various training programs and certifications including Level 1 Cicerone Certification, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification, SWGS Academy Sommelier Boot Camp, and ServSafe Manager’s Certification Course.
Hitoshi’s fabulous past background has earned him the opportunity of owning his own business and undoubtedly his past experience will enhance his chances for success in his new business.