DeKalb has many ethnic dining options like Chinese, Italian, Thai and Spanish. Now, you can one more to the list.

DeKalb’s latest sushi restaurant, Fushi Yami, 822 W. Lincoln Highway, opened up its doors Nov. 6 and has filled what was a void in Japanese dining around DeKalb.

“I came here because there was opportunity, because there was no such place here,” said Chin Tseng, the owner of the restaurant. “I can’t believe there’s such a huge university and no such sushi place here.”

As a privately owned restaurant, Tseng said he wanted to make sure everything was perfect before opening so he had encountered delays. After two previously scheduled open dates in September and October, the restaurant finally opened in November.

Tseng said since this is the first place of its kind in DeKalb, he had expectations to meet in contributing to the culture. By delaying the opening he was able to maintain a standard of quality.

This quality is evidenced in the fresh fish that is brought in every other day from O’Hare Airport. He also serves authentic Japanese soft drinks and Hibachi entrees similar to what’s served at Benihana’s, but without the cooking at the table.

A week after opening and only a little advertising done, Tseng said business has been better than he had expected.

However, Tseng is not the only one who serves sushi in DeKalb.

Mel Whitmer, the owner of Tapalaluna, 226 E. Lincoln Highway, serves sushi at his tapas bar too, but does not feel threatened by the opening of Fushi Yami.

“I think competition keeps us all on the right path,” Whitmer said. “There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m not concerned and I think it will service the college crowd a little easier as far as transportation.”

Whitmer also described his sushi as a more “Pacific Rim,” contemporary version.

Nevertheless, diners at Fushi Yami are finding the food to be very satisfying.

“It’s the best Japanese food I’ve had, period,” said senior criminology major Kenneth Mann. “I like it for the first time being here.”

For the future, Tseng hopes the restaurant will become a hot spot and a meeting place for students. He also looks to provide beer and saké next year as well as a delivery service too.