Feeding St. John's sushi appetite growing business for Chinese immigrant

The glass counter at Sun Sushi is lined with colourful, raw fish. The man turning it into rolls of sushi, affectionately named after St. John's streets, is a young and fresh-faced Chinese man.

You'd never guess 32-year-old Ming Xie isthe ownernot onlyoperating the busy lunchtime spot on Kenmount Road, but two other Sun Sushi locations in the capital city.

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His English is broken, andXie answers almost all questions with a big smile.

Xie's mother immigrated to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2000, and soon realized there was something missing in St. John's a Japanese restaurant.

He's since taken over his mother's Sun Sushi location on Duckworth Street, leading the way when it comes to expanding Asian cuisine in St. John's.

"I'm going to re-vamp the menu with new dishes every year," he said. "I expect more Japanese restaurants are going to open in the St. John's area."

A family affair,Xie'syounger sister manages his downtown restaurant.

Xie, who immigrated from northeastern China, said he plans to stay in St. John's to raise his young family.

"I love [it] here ... the people, and I like ocean."

Meet the man behind Sun Sushi

7 years ago

Duration 2:07

At 32, Ming Xie is a busy man. He immigrated to St. John's and has taken over one sushi restaurant and opened two others.