Good Neighbor Podcast: Milton & More
Bringing Together Local Businesses & Neighbors of Milton, Crabapple, and Hickory Flat
Good Neighbor Podcast: Milton & More
EP #108: Rock N Roll Sushi with Eric Robison
Ever wondered what puts the 'Rock N Roll' in Rock N Roll Sushi? Join us for a fun and insightful session with Eric Robison, the area developer of this unique Americanized sushi concept that perfectly marries the energetic spirit of Rock N Roll with innovative sushi recipes. Eric regales us with tales of the phenomenal growth this brand has experienced since 2016, now boasting nine locations in Georgia and an impressive 67 across the country.
Eric takes us behind the scenes, revealing the challenges faced when launching a new restaurant. He attributes the success of Rock N Roll Sushi to teamwork, robust systems, and generous support from the brand. We delve into what sets this place apart from traditional sushi restaurants. Get ready to have your preconceived notions about sushi challenged as Eric unveils an exciting menu that fuses American flavors with traditional Asian recipes. As a bonus, he shares about their delicious hibachi and ramen offerings too! Tune in, and let Eric take you on a nostalgic culinary journey, accompanied by a backdrop of rock music and festive drinks. Not just a restaurateur, Eric also shares his passion for travel and his personal journey in the restaurant industry. It's an episode filled with rockin' tales and sushi rolls!
This is the Good Neighbor podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Stacey Polar.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, we are here with Eric Robinson. He is the area developer for Rock and Roll Sushi.
Speaker 3:Welcome here hey, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so why don't you start off by telling us about Rock and Roll Sushi?
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, it's an amazing brand. I've been involved with it quite a while now, since 2016,. We've got our first location license signed and we've been growing with the brand since then. It's a casual Americanized sushi concept and really our growth has been phenomenal, not only in Georgia and throughout the whole country. At this point, Wow, wow.
Speaker 2:So how many restaurants are there in Georgia and across the US?
Speaker 3:So Georgia, we've got nine and we've got a new one. Sorry indicator Georgia, 67 across the country.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. So talk about some of the challenges and obstacles to opening a new restaurant.
Speaker 3:Well, there's always challenges, but one of the good things with Rock and Roll is how much they've supported us in getting open and the resources we have. It's always going to be hard work, but we've done well, working as a team, and we've developed a lot of systems and processes along the way that have really strengthened us and given us a lot of support.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. And what puts the Rock and Roll in the business?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean. So we have rock music playing in the restaurant. We've got Rock and Roll videos on display. A lot of nostalgia. Our menus are on the insides of old, actual vinyl albums, so when you come in you get to see all the old vinyl. It's nostalgic for some people, but then we've got new rockin' going as well. Our menus kind of Rock and Roll themed, so it's a whole fun dinner experience.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So what are some of the things that make you different from a traditional sushi restaurant?
Speaker 3:Yeah, our menu is exciting because it brings a lot of American fusion in with the traditional Asian recipes. So you get a lot of interesting flavor combinations between strawberries or mangoes on top of sushi. So you really get to experiment and have a lot of different combinations that you're not used to seeing in a sushi restaurant.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. Any myths or misconceptions about the restaurant or sushi in general?
Speaker 3:I would say, one misconception is that we're just sushi. We actually do have hibachi as well, and ramen.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow, okay, and is the menu something that changes?
Speaker 3:It is constantly evolving. You know, we're constantly trying different items, different seasonal things. Originally we were just sushi and then we realized there was such a potential or the need in the market for those people who don't eat sushi like how do we help them out? And so we have a lot of. We have a herbachi now too.
Speaker 2:Bachi and ramen, cool, cool. Do you guys serve any signature drinks or fun things we do?
Speaker 3:yeah, we've got a great cocktail menu and actually right now in our stop bridge location we've done a Christmas pop-up bar, so the whole place is decorated with, you know, a Christmas explosion and yeah, you can come in and see it. It's real seasonal and got a lot of festive drinks with it.
Speaker 2:Awesome. When you're not working, what do you like to do for fun?
Speaker 3:We love to travel. One of our favorite trips recently was we took a whole family to Japan and you know, my daughter she's five she was just getting to eat all this amazing sushi there and we really got to experience a lot, did a sushi cooking class over there, not that we didn't know how, but it's just neat when you're there to take in the local culture.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and have you always loved sushi, kind of. Where has this passion come from? Have you always been in the restaurant industry?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I started in the restaurant business in high school. I'm working for Chick-fil-A and did that for a while and eventually decided, hey, this would be a fun career and decided to get back in and started open the first one. We were having a great time, it was going really well First one's in Stockbridge, georgia, and we were loving it. And we said, hey, we can grow this. We started working with them and decided to take on developing the whole state of Georgia.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome. Anything else you wanna share about the restaurant that you haven't had a chance to say?
Speaker 3:Well, we're always looking for new franchisees to help us grow. It's a great business. We've really been able to figure out a lot of the ins and outs of how to develop sushi restaurants, because for a long time sushi restaurants were something that really was kind of closely guarded and nobody was mass growing in. This Rock and roll was able to crack that secret and really just figure out how to keep growing and bring sushi to more people, and so we're doing great. It's going really well. We do phenomenal and even roll markets where you wouldn't think people would enjoy sushi. We've got a lot of sushi that's cooked and so, as people who are afraid of the raw, we're able to bring them into cooked or even slightly cooked with like sea urtuna and really exposing a lot of people to a great new food.
Speaker 2:Awesome, awesome, and I know you have several locations. What would be the website folks could go to to learn about where they all are?
Speaker 3:Rockandrollsushicom has all the information.
Speaker 2:Awesome, All right well, thank you so much for joining us today, Eric.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast Milton and More. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpmiltoncom. That's gnpmiltoncom, or call 470-664-4930. Thanks for watching.