Revival Food Hall’s Getting Sushi Rolls Made By a Robot

Sushi will soon arrive at Revival Food Hall courtesy of a new vendor that will employ a robot. TOMI is from a pair of women who worked at Japanese restaurants including Yuzu and Slurping Turtle, and they’ll bring their bot to Revival, the bustling lunch paradise in the Loop with an assemblage of some of Chicago’s most popular restaurants. TOMI will feature sushi rolled with rice paper featuring work from local artists, according to a news release.

Employing a robot means TOMI can serve quality sushi to a large volume of customers, such as those who file into Revival’s 24,000 square-foot-space. Suzumo, a Tokyo company with offices in California in New Jersey, manufactured the robot. The machine can roll about 350 pieces of uramaki an hour. Automation isn’t anything new to Chicago, which has seen a flood of high-tech spots in recent months.

TOMI [Official Photo]

Co-founder Trisha Bun told Chicago that she wants to focus on affordable sushi that office workers can enjoy. They’re shooting for under $7 per roll. Bun worked with sushi chef and co-founder Pamela Decker at Yuzu in West Town where bun was director of operations. Decker also worked as sous chef at Arami in Lincoln Park.

TOMI adds to Revival’s arsenal, giving the downtown food hall 16 kiosks. It’s a new buildout, located between Smoque BBQ and the Fat Shallot. A spokesperson didn’t have an opening date, but TOMI should debut sometime in September.