Rotary Sushi Restaurants Are Coming to Wicker Park and Chinatown

Rotary sushi — once a novelty in Chicago, though existing in the northwest suburbs — is suddenly easier to find. Sushi Plus, a mini-chain with locations in suburban Aurora and Lakeview has plans, according to its website, to open locations this summer in Wicker Park and Chinatown. The Wicker Park location is at 1352 N. Milwaukee Avenue, while the Chinatown location is at 2131 S. Archer Avenue (the former Seafood Harbor).

The restaurant serves sushi to customers seated around a conveyor belt by allowing them to pluck a moving dish. Customers can also order specific items if they don’t want to wait for their favorite sushi to rotate to them. For fans, rotary sushi isn’t just about the fun waiting for a favorite item. It also can be a fast and efficient meal. Plates are color coded or plates with RFIDs to help servers know what customers have consumed and how much to charge them. When rotary sushi started in Japan in 1958, it was a way for restaurant owners to solve problems finding staff.

More than six decades after expanding across the globe, rotary is still a new way of eating for Chicagoans. It may also be a way to reduce labor costs through self service. Uptown’s Wabi Sabi is another rotary sushi spot in the city. Meanwhile, Sushi Station has been around for more than a decade in suburban Rolling Meadows. There are a handful more in the suburbs.

Sushi Plus’s owners weren’t immediately reached for comment. Check back for any updates.