Today we’d like to introduce you to Steffan Alexander Lazerow.
Steffan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My name is Steffan Alexander Lazerow and I have always been a serial entrepreneur but never had any idea what I wanted to throw myself into. I followed the traditional path that most kids go down after high school by and attended college (mostly floating by and doing the bare minimum) and was also a student-athlete. I just kept waiting for the day where I would figure out my calling, relying on luck – which to anyone reading this, is a terrible way to figure out what you want to do), but nothing hit. After graduation I decided that going to law school would give me an excellent background for the day that I made the jump into entrepreneurship (I currently practice as a trademark and business specialist where I help people build, grow and protect their businesses – www.steffanalazerowlaw.com). During this legal journey, my itch for entrepreneurship only grew stronger and I realized that that to grow a successful business, a few things needed to be true: 1) the idea can’t be terrible; 2) timing and execution play a large role and 3) the owner/CEO needs to be uniquely situated to run the company. I soon realized that the time for this company is now and no one is better situated than myself to change the way sushi is eaten around the world.
I have diabetes on my dad’s side and as I’ve gotten older, have become increasingly sensitive to all types of grains and in whatever form (pasta, bread, rice, etc.). Due to this, I had more or less given up my favorite food – sushi, because of the way it made me feel after eating. I had tried swapping white rice for brown rice and also tried sashimi but found that these methods it are increasingly expensive and not tackling the root of the problem. As a result, my sushi consumption went from daily to none.
One day I got the idea to seek out a grain-free sushi place for lunch. I assumed someone did it nearby and did some googling and couldn’t find anything. I then expanded my search and couldn’t find any company doing this in California – or anywhere else. Then it hit me – maybe this is what I should sink my teeth into. Normally when there is a void in the market, it is because the idea isn’t good or the market hasn’t moved in that direction I felt it was the latter.
That same day I went to Bed Bath & Beyond and bought a food processor and a bunch of other items for the kitchen. I spent a few hours that day trying to concoct a recipe (and admit that the first few were not good) since there was almost nothing I could find online. I did this same process over and over and over again during the next few weeks until we had some friends over one night who said our sushi was the best they had ever tried. This is how our journey began.
Over the ensuing weeks, we picked a name, created our LLC, found a commercial kitchen, obtained the necessary licenses and permits, and continued to work on our recipes. Then in late September/early October, we felt that we had a decent enough product to see if it would sell. We were SO fortunate that the amazing people at the Hillcrest Farmer’s Market gave us an opportunity. We have been doing fantastic there and were recently offered a spot as a regular vendor (as opposed to a fill-in as we had been doing) and will be at the Hillcrest Market for the foreseeable future. Recently we also began selling on Thursdays at the North Park Farmer’s Market.
We plan to expand to more markets in January 2020 since I will be reducing my hours as an attorney to focus on this venture. I think it is realistic that if all keeps going well, we plan to open a restaurant within a year.
We want to inspire people to live a healthier life by providing foods that taste great and but make them feel even better. No longer should you compromise on the foods you love and UNRICEDSUSHI is the necessary change to a stagnant industry. We’re on a mission out to change the way sushi is eaten around the world by removing grains and substituting healthy, flavorful, and beautiful vegetables as the base.
Shout-out to Mackenzie Fultz, the love of my life and the best business partner in the whole world. We look forward to seeing you at one of the local farmer’s markets! Thank you.
Has it been a smooth road?
The biggest struggle we’ve faced thus far was getting into a farmer’s market. Our initial attempts were met with nothing but stone-cold no’s and non-excitement. I don’t the people we spoke with understood the concept (or tried to) or what our long-term vision was. Instead of letting this get us down, we kept on pushing and not taking no for an answer, and eventually got into the biggest farmer’s market in San Diego – Hillcrest Farmer’s Market. Now were on to market two with plans for more in the future.
Tell us more about the business.
UNRICEDSUSHI is the first grain-free, vegetable-based sushi company. Instead of using boring and unflavorful rice (which is a filler and has become the reason why people avoid eating sushi) we “rice” some of the most beautiful veggies on the planet, cook them in healthy fats and provide for our customers the best tasting (and healthiest) sushi on the planet.
Rice is devoid of many essential nutrients (for example, a single sweet potato contains approximately 769% of your daily value of vitamin A, whereas rice contains none) and is used as a cheap filler in sushi. We have created a premium, no-filler product that our customers love and keep coming back for.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Over the next five to ten years, most grain-based industries will shift this way. You’re already seeing it with cauliflower pizza crust, zucchini noodles, etc. We’re hoping to move the sushi industry in this direction.
Pricing:
- $ 13 – Ahi Tuna/Smoked Salmon/Spicy Tuna Roll with Sweet Potato or Purple Cauliflower as the base + avocado & cucumber.
- $ 13 – Ahi Tuna/Smoked Salmon/Spicy Tuna Bowl with Sweet Potato or Purple Cauliflower as the base + avocado & cucumber.
- $ 11 – Vegan Roll with Sweet Potato or Purple Cauliflower as the base + avocado, cucumber, & vegan cream cheese.
- $ 11 – Vegan Bowl with Sweet Potato or Purple Cauliflower as the base + avocado, cucumber, & vegan cream cheese.
Contact Info:
- Address: Hillcrest Farmer’s Market – 3960 Normal St, San Diego, CA 92103 / North Park Farmer’s Market – 3000 North Park Way, San Diego, CA 92104
- Website: www.unricedsushi.com
- Phone: 2402772354
- Email: unricedsushi@gmail.com
- Instagram: @unricedsushi
- Facebook: @unricedsushi
- Twitter: @unricedsushi
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