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Sushi Boss plans to be in charge of the storefront at the southwest corner of Monument Circle and Meridian Street, where salad eatery Green District and bread-focused Au Bon Pain Cafe closed in 2023 and 2020, respectively.
Jason Hornberger, a Franklin Central High School and IUPUI alum who opened the first Sushi Boss restaurant in 2014, said he’s a believer in the 26 Monument Circle address on the first floor of the 101-year-old Guaranty Building.
“I like the atmosphere and the vibe of being on the Circle,” Hornberger said. “I think it could be a landmark location for us.”
The Monument Circle restaurant is expected to open this summer, he said.
The first Sushi Boss location will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year at 803 W. 10th St. in the Lockefield Shoppes retail center near IUPUI’s campus. Hornberger opened his second Sushi Boss in 2019 at 3349 E. 86th St. at Keystone Shoppes.
While the Monument Circle location will be the third brick-and-mortar Sushi Boss in a decade of doing business, Hornberger has expanded the business through off-site partnerships.
Sushi Boss began placing its California and spicy tuna rolls on the University of Indianapolis campus in 2015, and college alliances followed at Purdue University in West Lafayette and Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
The company formed additional partnerships with central Indiana high schools, hospitals and grocery stores.
“When [UIndy] reached out, that kind of got my mind spinning about the different ways that I could grow the business and expand the recognition of the brand with our labels on the boxes,” Hornberger said.
The Monument Circle restaurant will occupy 2,700 square feet, split between customer activity on the building’s first floor and prep work on the basement level.
For the lease agreement, Sushi Boss was represented by Nick Wright of Newbridge Commercial Real Estate. Jim Logan of Premier Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord, Guaranty Holdings Co. LLC.
Hornberger said he expects about 20 employees will be hired for the restaurant, which will open daily at 10:30 a.m. and close at either 10 or 11 p.m.
The restaurant is known for a “build-your-own” sushi roll approach in which a customer’s counter experience is similar to what’s found at Chipotle and Subway locations. “You design, we roll” is a Sushi Boss slogan.
Hornberger initially ate sushi when visiting Japanese restaurants with his future wife, but he found the menus to be intimidating.
“I thought, ‘Why isn’t there an easier concept for people like me to be introduced to sushi and feel comfortable and confident about what they’re eating?’” Hornberger said.
Green District was open for just 20 months at the downtown site and has closed all of its area stores.
Au Bon Pain Cafe occupied the prominent space from 2006 to 2020. The spot was previously home to a Roly Poly Sandwiches shop and Hardwickes Pipe & Tobacco.
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Bring it!
Great concept. Great food. Surprised it hasn’t expanded at a much faster pace.
Great news! I would love to see them on the northwest side of Indy (and other new places) eventually – I really enjoyed their location downtown when I was there more often.