Craving a bowl? He’s your poké man

Julian Fukue is responsible for the Chipotle of poké.

The 24-year-old Laguna Niguel resident opened PokiNometry in Anaheim last year. The business sells poké bowls, which are made with sushi-grade raw fish, rice and toppings like fish eggs, cucumbers and sesame seeds.

Fukue said he saw a demand for the Hawaiian and Japanese dish after working at his family’s restaurant, Tommy’s Sushi in Tustin.

“Poké bowls were and are still the number one-selling item at Tommy’s,” Fukue said. “For PokiNometry, we deconstructed the poké bowl, turned it into an assembly line, and here we are now.”

Guests line up at PokiNometry and order from stations, Chipotle-style.

First, they choose what kind of base they want — white rice, brown rice, chips or salad. Next, they choose from a variety of seafood, including salmon, yellowtail, tuna, octopus, scallops and shrimp. Finally, the meal is topped off with sauces and additions.

The bowls come in a variety of sizes. A small is $7, a medium is $8.75 and a large is $10.75.

PokiNometry quickly became a destination for a fast and healthy lunch or dinner. The Anaheim location, at 184 S. Harbor Blvd., sells about 1,000 bowls a day, said Fukue, who also opened a Los Angeles location earlier this year.

He believes poké is a popular food because it is fresh, convenient and healthy. He said he orders all his fish and ingredients from quality sushi distributors, which he has a relationship with because of Tommy’s.

Annabelle Carlson, 21, of Fullerton visited the Anaheim PokiNometry recently and ordered her usual tuna and salmon bowl while on her lunch break.

She said she visits PokiNometry at least once every other week.

“It’s so delicious, and it’s so much food for the price,” she said. “This helps me get my sushi fix without having to spend a lot of money. I love that I can choose what I want. I’ve brought so many friends and family members here. This place is such a hidden treasure.”

When Fukue first opened the Anaheim location, he only intended to sell about 100 bowls, but word about the first restaurant spread so quickly that it began running out of food during the first few months.

“We couldn’t keep up with the demand at first,” he said. “My birthday was a month from our opening, and I was praying that I would get my birthday off. The day before, we ran out of fish and had to close on my birthday.”

Fukue appreciated the day off, which he said is a rare occurrence in his life. He said he has been working as a sushi chef at Tommy’s since he attended Dana Hills High School in Dana Point and took over ownership at 18 after his parents divorced.

Now, Fukue owns both PokiNometry locations, as well as Tommy’s, where he still works as a sushi chef. He’s said he’s also working on the possibility of opening a PokiNometry in Irvine.

“I feel like I sacrifice a lot, especially my social life,” he said. “But I’m having fun, and that’s what matters.”

He also said his staff of about 30 people have become his family and have given him a reason why he doesn’t want to expand the business too much.

“I want to expand it within Southern California, but I don’t want to franchise,” he said. “I’m not in it for the headache. I’m more in it for the fun. I feel like everyone on our staff has a say in the business since we are so small still. I really enjoy that because we all work together to make the business better day by day.”