By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Many things about longtime West Seattle Junction restaurant Mashiko did not change when three longtime employees took over.

But some change was inevitable.

For example: The restaurant famed for sustainable-seafood sushi and other Japanese cuisine is now taking reservations online.

When we sat down to talk recently with two of the new owners, Mariah Kmitta and Allison Hill, they were marveling at how fast word about that had gotten out – nine reservations just during the course of our conversation.

They and Brandon Wicks took over in June, after the first sale attempted by Mashiko founder Hajime Sato fell through in March.

Mashiko’s been open at 4725 California SW for 25 years. For 20 of those years, Mariah has been Mashiko’s “sushi wizard.” After working with Hajime for so long, she says, “the quality of the food, the culture, all that’s instilled in you,” and while the new owners intend to live up to those high standards, thy also “want to keep Mashiko moving forward.”

(WSB photo at left; photo at right provided by Brandon Wicks)

Continuing to source seafood sustainably is a given. That goes back 10 years now – long before some others in the industry jumped in. Local sourcing of other supplies is vital too – Elliott Bay-brewed beer, for one. Allison says they want to have an even “bigger presence in the community,” and that’ll be part of “moving forward.” She by the way has been associated with Mashiko off and on for 15 years, mostly “front of the house”; Brandon has been a Mashiko sushi chef for the better part of six years. The restaurant’s name will remain the same. Along with the online reservation system, some other underlying technology will evolve too; their website is also being updated for the first time in a long time. And they’re working on “some other little things that will drastically affect customers’ experience in ways that may not be noticeable.” (That includes sound dampening, so the ambience won’t be quite as loud.)

Plus, they’ll keep experimenting: “You have to keep trying to be innovative.” They recall a time when “Mariah got rid of chicken for a while” and had duck as the featured poultry instead, but “West Seattle wasn’t ready for that.” Their seafood offerings continue to innovate – “twice the selection of most sushi bars.” And the sustainability focus means they continue working “to hep consumers make educated decisions.” Those decisions in turn lead to support for smaller vendors and “super-fresh” offerings. It took a couple years for customers to really embrace the philosophy; Mariah recalls reassuring Hajime to “just give it two years … once people understand it’s not some scam or gimmick, (they’ll) embrace it.”

Of course, Mashiko is about more than sushi. Some of its menu items are particularly suited for the cool-weather months to come – like big bowls of curry, as well as ramen and tempura. You’ll see Mashiko participating in some of the community events ahead, too, such as the Junction Harvest Festival (October 27th).

In general, the new owners are thankful for the time they worked with Mashiko’s founder, as well as looking forward to what’s to come. Mariah recalls first arriving at Mashiko for a “two-week job (that) turned into a 20-year career” … and now an adventure in entrepreneurialism..

Something else new, by the way – a happy hour. It starts the day after Labor Day (on September 3rd), 5:03-6:03 pm daily. Yes, :03 – that’s a quirk of Hajime’s that they’re keeping, opening the restaurant at 5:03 pm nightly. (Sundays-Thursdays it will continue to close at 9 pm, 10 pm Fridays and Saturdays.) Happy hour will include a dollar off draft beer and cider (they have draft sake too), plus a “small omakase menu,” possibly bento-box style (they were still testing that when we spoke).