Rosie Gordon and her husband Shoji Mochizuki founded Sushi-Zen in Arlington, Virginia in 1997. With the help of the couple’s children, Brian and Malinda, Sushi-Zen has become a mainstay in their local community just outside of Washington, D.C.
In 2018, a desire for efficiency, affordability, and quality service led them to join ChowNow for a long-term partnership. Just under four years later, the family restaurant has served over 30,000 online orders through ChowNow, earning more than $2.5 million and saving $500,000 on our commission-free platform.
Taking Care of Guests, Employees, and the Bottom Line
With takeout orders comprising over 30% of Sushi-Zen’s total sales, the phone at the family Japanese restaurant was constantly ringing. Co-owner Rosie Gordon knew that online ordering would be essential for her restaurant’s growth. She recounts, “Our takeout kept increasing and our customers—who were picking things up—kept saying, ‘You know, it’d be really nice if you had online ordering just to make it faster.’”
Finding the right online ordering provider, though, was a different matter. Gordon and her team tried out several third-party, commission-based delivery apps , but found these services to be unfair and unsustainable. “I wasn’t happy with them,” Gordon states. “It was partly inconsistent customer service, partly misrepresentation or things we didn’t like in the contract terms, and the costs to our bottom line were outrageous.”
