Rock N' Roll Sushi takes to the stage

When Donnie Shaw and his wife were coming back to Cape Girardeau from a vacation in Florida, they stopped at a sushi chain called Rock N' Roll Sushi.

The couple was impressed by the atmosphere of the restaurant, with neon lights, music videos playing and menus shaped like album covers.

"What sold us on knowing that one of these needed to be here in Missouri, and especially here in Cape Girardeau, was the quality of food. It was just second to none," Shaw said.

Shaw got in touch with the company and worked on bringing the chain to Cape Girardeau. He opened a Rock N' Roll Sushi on Monday, Feb. 19, at 3069 William St., Suite 101.

"This is something you could bring somebody to that would never think they'd like sushi, and they would like it," he said of the restaurant.

Its menu features various seafood sushi rolls, often topped with spicy ingredients or sauces, as well as hibachi, salads and desserts.

"It's definitely one of those things that definitely fits our demographic and our people, and it's a perfect fit for this area," Shaw said.

Shaw is no stranger to owning a restaurant. He operates Honey Baked Ham Company at 201 S. Mount Auburn Road, just a block away from Rock N' Roll Sushi.

Dakota Suhre, the general manager of the Honey Baked Ham establishment, also serves as general manager for the new sushi restaurant.

Suhre said managing the restaurants is slightly different, as Honey Baked Ham is more of a quick-service establishment.

The Rock N' Roll Sushi employs some 45 workers.

A husband-and-wife team founded the chain in Mobile, Alabama in 2010. The company started franchising locations a few years later.

The Cape Girardeau location is the franchise's 69th restaurant and the first in Missouri.

Shaw said he plans to open additional Rock N' Roll Sushi establishments throughout eastern Missouri and western Kentucky.

The Cape Girardeau location will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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