When Shaan Puri’s parents forked out the money for their son’s college education, they never dreamed he would end up with a sushi roller instead of a scalpel.
But Puri, a pre-med student, and two other Duke University pals sidelined their intended career paths in pursuit of entrepreneurship in the food world.
The trio pooled $6,000 to create Sabi Sushi, an online sushi order and delivery service that officially launches today in downtown Denver.
To wrap your brain around this quirky concept, you need to crawl inside the mind of a 23-year-old with no credit, collateral, culinary training or caution.
The business concept — a first for Denver — bypasses the traditional bricks-and-mortar restaurant building and instead consists of a commercial kitchen that produces sushi rolls when an order is placed on the website .
A driver makes the loop between the kitchen and the “drop zone” in front of the World Trade Center on the 16th Street Mall to deliver orders in a temperature-controlled container.
When orders are dropped, they are available for pickup from a staffed station on 16th near Court Place. When the kitchen runs out of product, the system shuts down for the day.
“We offer everything that’s great about a restaurant without the restaurant,” said Puri, who with his partners took a nine-week crash course in the sushi kitchen of Los Angeles-based Food Network competitor Phillip Yi. “We think we could change the entire game of the restaurant industry by taking the location piece out of the equation.”
If Sabi Sushi catches on, Puri said the same model could include other cuisines. “We can help chefs focus on making great food, and we take care of the rest,” he said.
Heinrich’s new haunt.
For 34 years, Heinrich Marketing operated out of typical in-the- box offices in Lakewood.
When the firm opted to bust a move to Lower Downtown, it broke out of the office box and into a cool space with an industrial vibe ready-made for the creativity of graffiti artists.
Heinrich hired Your Name in Graffiti, where artists LeMoN, Kanz and Wiser met a one-day deadline to tag a mural as movers were trucking in furniture.
The Suite 200 space at 2228 Blake St. is emblazoned with a graffiti-style multicolored sign that says Denver. YNIG has worked with the City of Denver to bring education on graffiti art to schools and recreation centers.
Free advice.
The Financial Planning Association of Colorado is hosting a free Denver Financial Planning Day. Advice will be dispensed by local planners, as well as credit- and mortgage-counseling representatives.
The event, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 22 at North High School, will provide financial-planning professionals offering one-on-one advice on topics such as getting out of debt, retirement planning, investment strategies, insurance and estate planning.
Attendees can register online at . For information, call 303-450-0515 or go to .
Eavesdropping
on a female customer to a clerk at the cheese counter in Whole Foods: “I need some help buying some cheese.”
“What type of cheese do you like?”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Call her at 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
