Sushi made with passion

Restaurant stories 🍣💙

Joonas, the shift manager of Hanko Aasia Iso Omena (formerly Hanko Sushi), lifts a plate of fresh salmon on the table. Next to Joonas is Vilma, who works as a team leader in eight Hanko Sushi restaurants in the capital region. The two are jointly responsible for taking care of the chain's customers, who return to the restaurant day after day looking for freshness, premium ingredients and a good price-quality ratio. As the name suggests, the first Hanko Sushi was opened in Hanko. The idea was born from the founding members' passion and longing for good sushi - when the restaurant was founded in 2009, there were still not many places in Finland that offered sushi. Today, some of the restaurants go by the Hanko Asia name, and the selection includes favorites that are loved by both customers and employees. For example, while Joonas prefers a salmon plate, Vilma usually goes for the Hanko Bowl filled with chicken and rice every day she has dance practice. When talking about colleagues, Joonas praises his supervisor Marika, who is strict when necessary, but nevertheless very understanding, encouraging and approachable. In addition, colleagues Sanni and Petteri make sure that the work never becomes too serious. Both Joonas and Vilma emphasize their gratitude towards their colleagues. "We have a wonderful group of professional managers and teams in the restaurants. Our team members come from different backgrounds, but are united by the same passion for high-quality sushi and customer service," says Vilma. In regards to funny incidents, Vilma recalls a situation where she had first served a customer at the restaurant in Iso Omena and then ran into them the following week at the restaurant in Tripla. The customer laughed and said they were confused whether they had come to the wrong shopping mall. However, any inside jokes aren’t shared with outsiders. "What happens in Hanko Sushi, stays in Hanko Sushi", Vilma laughs.