In the dining industry, the quality of each guest’s experience is just as important as the quality of food they’re being served. The minds behind the Crafted Bar Concepts restaurant group strive to create a guest experience as unique as possible. Sushi Marquee, the newest addition to The Star in Frisco, is a hot, fresh concept from the minds of CBC.
Sushi Marquee started off as an idea of CBC’s Vice President Brad Hawkins. Hawkins partnered with Dallas Hale, CEO of Crafted Bar Concepts, to create what would become Sushi Marquee.
“At Sushi Marquee, the guest comes in anticipating a phenomenal meal,” Hale said, “In addition to that, they receive an interactive, fun experience. We’ve got sake bombs, ’80s and ’90s music, and we aim to create just an all-around good time, that way, when the guest leaves, they say ‘man, I can’t wait to go back!’”
When approached by Hawkins to partner in the creation of Sushi Marquee, Hale, confident in its success, immediately agreed.
“I wish I could take credit for this idea,” Hale said. “This is the brainchild of Brad Hawkins. We’ve been the best of friends for about 25 years and we’ve always talked about creating a concept together.”
Sushi Marquee is largely inspired by the sushi restaurants Brad Hawkins encountered while visiting Los Angeles.
“Brad has been telling me about this concept for about 20 years,” Hale said. “He had gone to L.A. and came across a place that had a fun, interactive vibe but the worst sushi he had ever tasted.”
Because of his experience in L.A., Hawkins was determined to create something better with Hale.
“He came to me and said, ‘Dallas, we need to recreate this concept, but we need to jazz it up and make it the best sushi they’ve ever had,” Hale said. “I told him, ‘let’s go.’”
Despite having been primarily relying on word-of-mouth promotion, Sushi Marquee has seen much success since its grand opening two weeks ago.
“It’s surprising how well the turnout has been,” Hale said. “We haven’t advertised yet because we’re still working out all of the kinks, but the food’s been amazing, we’re getting great reviews, and the crowds keep pouring in, it’s been great!”
Although Sushi Marquee is currently only open for dinner, they plan to officially open for lunch at the top of next year. Their lunch menu will feature a variety of options which they call their “Power Lunch” meals.
“Our Power Lunch menu is amazing,” Hale said. “We will offer our full menu at lunchtime, but we will also have poke bowls, sushi burritos, and bento boxes.”
The Power Lunch menu will provide guests with easily customizable options.
“We’ll have signature poke bowls, but we’ll allow the guests to select their choice of fish, along with their choice of rice, sauce, and veggies,” Hale said. “Once their bowl is ordered, the customer will be served within five to seven minutes.”
Although Sushi Marquee is fresh off of its opening, they have managed to keep the ball rolling with all sorts of events.
“We’ve already had people call to set up their bachelorette parties, birthday parties, and bridal showers,” Hale said. “We also hope to get a video DJ for New Year’s Eve.”
Sushi Marquee is a novelty for lovers of sports, music, and Asian cuisine. It is a fresh, fun, modern concept, unlike any other sushi restaurant in town. Sushi Marquee is officially open in The Star in Frisco.