Astoria, Restaurants
May 28, 2013

The Story of Pink Nori

Pink Nori, a Japanese restaurant slated to open on 30th Avenue this summer, will offer a make-it-yourself-sushi-menu. Jesse Tang won $10K in the Long Island Youth Entrepreneur Challenge, which will help to fund the marketing efforts of the restaurant.

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Jesse Tang, winner of the Long Island Youth Entrepreneur Challenge, will open Pink Nori in Astoria. Image source: Facebook

Jesse Tang, a winner in the Long Island Youth Entrepreneur Challenge, will open Pink Nori in Astoria with his family. Image source: Facebook

On twitter this week there was some chatter about a new Japanese restaurant called Pink Nori that is opening up on 30th Avenue. It will be located at 36-06 30th Avenue, next door to Antika Pizzeria, and it has an interesting background.

First, the name is intriguing – what the heck is “pink nori?” Well, it’s also known as mamenori, “processed food sheets consisting primarily of soybean.” The name is actually trademarked. Also: “There are many non-Japanese who dislike the sea-like smell of nori, even though sushi is now popular outside Japan. Thus, Mamenori is used in foreign sushi shops instead of regular nori.” One of its varieties is… wait for it… pink. So there you go with the explanation of pink nori.

In an article in Newsday, I learned that a young man by the name of Jesse Tang, a Stony Brook University student, is opening this restaurant with his family (Danny Tang is the tenant, according to the DOB), currently planned for this summer. Jesse entered the Long Island Youth Entrepreneur Challenge on the student track, pitched this restaurant idea, and was one of two winners in the Challenge! He was awarded $10,000 that will fund the marketing of the restaurant.

According to the article, “Pink Nori would use a make-it-yourself sushi menu to draw more customers.” This is a unique touch – no other Japanese restaurant, to my knowledge, offers such a thing.

So there you have it – do it yourself sushi on 30th Ave! We look forward to sharing more information about the restaurant as we find it.

About Meg Cotner

Meg Cotner was trained as a harpsichordist and now works as a freelance writer and editor. She is the author of "Food Lovers' Guide to Queens," and is a skilled and avid home cook, baker, and preserver.

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