Bryan comes from a computer science background, and though he still helps others with computer issues, he said his passion is business.
Bryan first worked as a server at a Japanese restaurant. When he was not busy, he learned how to make sushi through video tutorials on YouTube.
The restaurateur said his mother is a good cook who had previously owned a restaurant in Vietnam. That experience pushed the family to give starting a restaurant a shot.
“Most of the Vietnamese food is her recipe,” Bryan said.
The family opened the first Rakuu sushi restaurant in Spring in April 2014. Then, the owner of the shopping center where Rakuu’s Spring location is located offered the Le family the opportunity to acquire space in Katy. They found it to be a good area with a lot of development, Bryan said.
“When we drove out here, it was all woods and trees,” he said. “But I saw potential.”
However, the COVID-19 pandemic happened shortly after the family obtained their permit to open in 2019. When it opened in September 2020, business was very slow, Bryan said. Two years later, the restaurant has found success, he said.
The restaurant offers Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese food with a focus on handmade sushi. The restaurant’s sushi chef has been in the business for 15 years, and Bryan said he makes an effort to buy local, doing the shopping himself and selecting quality fish for the sushi.
The restaurant has also built relationships with the local schools, Bryan said, providing food for their events. He said he welcomes feedback from the community on Rakuu’s dishes.
“I like the area. I like the people here,” he said. “People come here, try our food and love it. That means a lot to small-business owners like us.”
Rakuu
22635 Morton Ranch Road, Ste. 220, Katy
281-721-4421
www.rakuurestaurant.com
Hours: Tue.-Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., closed Mon.
