Pokébap, a restaurant serving sashimi-grade fish bowls in a fast casual style, will open in Dublin at the end of August.
David Kim, former co-owner of Rishi and Moshi sushi bars, and his business partner Seas Kim developed the concept after their own travels to Hawaii and California inspired in them a love for poké.
“One day we had sparked a conversation about our experiences on our trips and poké became a common topic,” said David Kim. “We had both expressed our love for poké and wanted to utilize our creative approaches to create an innovative vision [for] poké.”
David Kim left Rishi and Moshi sushi last June to pursue a career change in business brokering with Sokol and Associates. After a year he decided to get back into the food scene with Seas Kim, who’d made his own career change from fashion to food.
Both Kims contribute their own background to the business, David in food and Seas in marketing. Together they came up with a create-your-own poke that will start with ingredients like “fresh sashimi grade fish and house-baked fish salads” on top of rice, salad or wrapped in a burrito. From there you’ll be able to top it off with ingredients like edamame, avocado, cucumbers and some signature sauces.
The building at 7561 Sawmill Road will have indoor and outdoor seating and can fit up to 45 guests.
“We chose this location because it is the neighborhood I had grown up in, and I wanted to give my passion for food back to the community,” David Kim said.
Staffing and final renovations remain a pre-opening barrier. They are still looking for 12-15 shift leaders, prep cooks, and poké team members as well as a manager.
More information will be coming soon to www.pokebap.com.