Since Rachel and Mike Hsu opened their first shop in 2000, Sushi 86 has called seven different locations home. The first was a five-seat shoebox on Public Square. The last was in a gorgeous waterfront space at Harbor Verandas at the North Coast Harbor. In between were homes in and around the 5th Street Arcades downtown.
Late last year, the North Coast Harbor location, which opened in 2023, quietly closed its doors. Facing another long, difficult winter, the operators decided to cut their losses.
“There wasn’t enough business downtown,” says Rachel. “We didn’t get locals, we only got tourists. And this winter would have been rough down there.”…