It was an unexpected opening to say the least for Miso Teriyaki House.
The popular sushi bar and grill from Johnson City officially opened its doors on Friday at the old Krystal building in Elizabethton with a heaping helping of customers ready to try to the new establishment, according to Nanthida Inthavong.
“We opened Friday evening and expected to be busy,” Inthavong said Monday. “But we did not expect it to get as busy as it did. It was uncontrollable at times and at different points, we ran out of food.”
With 12 years of restaurant experience under her belt, along with 16 from her husband, the support from the community has been overwhelming, Inthavong said.
“Saturday was still very busy, but it wasn’t as bad,” she added. “We were able to bring in some more help but we still had people lined up.”
Sunday proved to be the tipping scale for the business, Inthavong said, with the Elizabethton store making more in a day compared to their Johnson City restaurant.
“It was incredible,” she added. “It was a record-setting day for Miso. We are very appreciative of the support we have gotten from everyone.”
Inthavong added that while things may be hectic, customers can expect better service for the days and months to come.
“It was so busy the first few days,” she said. “We’ve even had some problems with our equipment and the technician is out of town for the week so we’re working to get by that. My husband and I talked about when we opened on Friday that we could work with a small staff for the time being, work on serving tables, but it was amazing. We’ve brought in more help now to help with the customers from our other business. We just want to let people know that if there were any problems from the weekend, they won’t be a problem in the future”
As help continues to funnel in, the restaurant has been taking in the rewards of having a drive-thru available.
“My husband and I were driving into Red Chili one day and we’ve always talked about wanting a drive-thru,” Inthavong said. “When we were going through town, my husband saw the building and said that would be a great location. It was a six-month process before we got the building.”
Inthavong added the one of her employees went home for the week and documented how popular a local restaurant’s drive-thru service was.
“He told me we could be lucky to have something like that,” she said. “He showed me how busy it was and then Friday comes around and our business was just like that.”
Citizens with oriental taste buds will have a host of items to choose from, Inthavong said. Miso Teriyaki house features a wide variety of Japanese cuisine along with sushi. Customers have the option to dine in, use the drive-thru or use the carry out service.
The restaurant will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. throughout the week but Inthavong added that Miso in Elizabethton will be closing 2:30 to 5 p.m. during the month of June to help with the adjustment period.
For more information, or to place an order, call 423-543-8889. Miso Teriyaki House can also be found online by visiting their Facebook page.