Boulder Magazine Restaurant Profiles | JAPANGO

By Michelle Giles
Photos by Phil Mumford

Restaurant competition is fierce in Boulder, and any restaurateur will tell you that ownership is a risky affair. But if you’ve had a chance to work the business, learn the restaurant inside and out, and deal with everything from plumbing to personnel and all the details in between, then you’re definitely two steps ahead of the game.

Fresh sashimi and nicely wrapped, colorful rolls are hallmarks of Japango. The sea theme continues on the walls (pictured below) and even on the floor.

Which makes Alex Bruckman and Jon Banis four steps ahead. These two new co-owners of Japango, at 1136 Pearl St., know the restaurant backward and forward because they both came up through its ranks. Both started as waiters, worked their way up to become general managers, and in late 2007 became owners—a rather rare chain of events in the restaurant world.

Sushi chef Miki Hashimoto opened Japango in 1999 and soon hired the two CU students who would later take the helm. “Miki was a mentor,” says Bruckman, who started working at the restaurant while he was a junior in college. During the two years he was GM, he ran the restaurant with occasional visits from Hashimoto, who was spending most of his time at his Japon Sushi restaurant in Denver. Bruckman says, “He let me go through my growing pains, make my mistakes, guided me in how to handle the big decisions.”

Banis has a similar story. He worked for Hashimoto for five years—including two as general manager—and has spent 14 years overall in the restaurant industry. Both partners graduated from CU with degrees in psychology, with Banis also studying economics and Bruckman minoring in business.

Eleven collective years later, their investment of time, energy, education and appreciation for Japango paid off. “Miki wanted to keep it in the family, so to speak,” says Bruckman, describing how the offer of ownership came about. While the two new owners have ideas about growing Japango, they’re intent on “keeping a similar concept, because this was Hashimoto’s baby and we loved it,” Banis says.

Have a Nigiri

The restaurant’s signature is sushi, most priced between $3.80 and $5.50 for two pieces, and between $6.80 and $9 for specialty rolls. But what sets Japango apart from the competition is the unexpected twists its chefs consistently create. Consider the hamachi and jalapeño appetizer, in which yellowtail sashimi is seasoned with cilantro and jalapeño and sprinkled with a light, soy-based yuzu sauce. You get the same kick you would with wasabi, but the peppers bring a whole new level of heat and spice to the palate. Another signature dish is green-lip mussels with the chef’s special dynamite sauce. Japango’s spicy calamari—sauteed, not deep fried—are served with Sriracha, a brand of red-pepper sauce that packs a nice bit of heat. Many regulars go for the soup-like hot pots with thick udon noodles; dinner prices range from $12 for the vegetable miso pot with seafood to $18 for the freshwater eel pot with egg and burdock root.

Vegetarians will like the three different meatless sushi plates, the most varied of which—the Sushi V8—is a nigiri, or rice ball, draped with radish sprouts, spinach, enoki and shiitake mushrooms, cucumber, asparagus, avocado, and inari (fried bean curd). Or if you’re craving protein, there’s the Mile High Tofu, encased in crisply fried tempura batter and served in a teriyaki-ginger sauce, with rice and wok-seared vegetables on the side. The rice at Japango is Tamanishiki, a premium brand known for its flavor and texture.

Meat lovers will not be disappointed. One succulent choice is a lightly seasoned 8-ounce filet of beef grilled to preference and served with seasonal vegetables, rice, and garlic or teriyaki sauce. For something a little lighter, there’s the beef cutlet or beef teriyaki, both served with miso soup and house salad. Chicken and salmon teriyaki plates are also available.

Fusion in a Glass

Japango’s full bar offers a selection of wines, more than 20 different sakes, and Kirin Ichiban and other beers on tap. Seasonal treats include a white Sangría made with sake; Shiso sake with sparkling soda; and a raspberry-sake Cosmo. To top off your meal with something even sweeter, try the green tea crème brûlée; cheesecake with a strawberry-yuzu compote made with Japanese limes; or Boulder-made ice cream from Glacier.

Banis and Bruckman specialize in different aspects of the business. Bruckman is a hands-on manager, front and center, and serious about running a sushi restaurant in a neighborhood that has five within five blocks. Banis concentrates on marketing and growth, especially expanding the catering end of the business. Japango already offers some services that are unusual for a sushi restaurant: delivery within 30 minutes’ time and catering with a chef on site. Come football season, they’ll be serving sushi at the Club Level at Folsom Field during Buffs games.

Lunchtime customers enjoy a glass of sake with their seafood platter.

One surprising challenge, Bruckman says, is lack of visibility, despite the restaurant’s location on the Pearl Street Mall slightly west of Broadway. The owners make the most of the narrow storefront. In the window, a brass fish sculpture “swims” in front of tubes of tiny bubbles, and a whiteboard promotes daily specials. (The lunch special, for example, includes a mixed green salad, four pieces of California roll, vegetable tempura, and the entrée of the day, all for $6.50 to $7.) As you enter the restaurant, classic Boulder brick walls are juxtaposed with three small TV screens that manage to impart a modern, Japanese feel. Mirrors and tall ceilings bring in light and height, while a granite sushi bar beckons you to sit, drink and dine. Small tables and chairs are arranged around the two-level room, whose floor is painted to look like a koi pond. Bright paintings of fish by local artist Grant Freeman pop off the wall, while Greek fishermen’s lamps complete the piscatorial theme.

The pleasing fusions on the menu and in the décor give Banis and Bruckman a well-defined place in a hungry market. But what lends them a serious head start is their time in the restaurant business—specifically on their home turf, Japango.

Japango, at 1136 Pearl Street, 303-938-0330, is open for lunch 11am-2:30pm Mon-Fri and Sat noon–2:30 pm. Dinner is served from 5-10 pm Sun-Thurs and 5–11 pm Fri–Sat. Happy Hour daily 5–6:30 pm and during lunch.

Michelle Gilles is a freelance writer whose passion for food has had her happily tasting her way through Boulder since 1989.

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