"The Story and History Behind Studio City's Sushi Row "
Sushi Row is a deep dive into the chefs, restaurateurs, and untold stories behind this remarkable dining district. Over two years of interviews and photography, filmmaker and photographer Gary Rose documented 19 restaurants — each with its own style, history, and soul. From the loud, celebratory vibe of Teru Sushi to Nozawa's introduction of omakase to American diners, to Katsuya's innovations that reshaped the American palate, every chapter reveals a story worth telling. With over 345 photographs and a foreword by Chef Katsuya Uechi, Sushi Row is a celebration of immigrant entrepreneurs, culinary courage, and the strip mall sushi bars that quietly made history. This is Sushi Row.
“There is a truth among sushi eaters: we are part of a raw fish cult.
We see ourselves as artistic, worldly, and well-traveled.
We are the people who learned to use chopsticks not because we had to, but because we wanted to.”
In 1979, Teru Sushi opened in an unexpected suburb called Studio City, just 13 miles from Little Tokyo, where America's first nigiri-style sushi had been served decades earlier. What followed was nothing short of a culinary revolution. Chef Kazunori Nozawa, Chef Katsuya Uechi, and Chef Tetsuya Nakao arrived one by one, each bringing their own vision, personality, and artistry. Together, they were the early architects of what would become the highest concentration of authentic sushi restaurants outside Japan, all on a three-mile stretch of Ventura Boulevard.
The book celebrates one of the most unexpected culinary phenomena in American history. In a seemingly ordinary three-mile stretch of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, California, something extraordinary happened; this unassuming Los Angeles neighborhood became home to the highest concentration of sushi restaurants anywhere outside Japan, and one of the first places where Americans truly discovered the art of the sushi bar. What began as a simple photography project evolved into a three-year journey documenting the remarkable immigrant entrepreneurs who transformed this stretch of boulevard into a legendary culinary destination that shaped American sushi culture and continues to feed Hollywood's creative elite.
Through intimate interviews and stunning photography, award-winning filmmaker Gary Rose tells the untold stories behind nearly 20 restaurants that turned Studio City into a sushi mecca.
From Teru Sushi's pioneering 1979 opening to Asanebo's improbable transformation from a late-night karaoke bar into Los Angeles's first Michelin-starred restaurant. These are tales of persistence, ingenuity, and the American Dream. Meet Chef Tetsuya Nakao, who worked alongside Nobu Matsuhisa before building his own award-winning institution, and Chef Katsuya Uechi, who invented the now-ubiquitous spicy tuna on crispy rice that revolutionized fusion cuisine.
“These restaurants became the proving ground where dishwashers became head chefs, parking attendants became owners, and one three-mile stretch of boulevard changed how an entire nation thought about Japanese cuisine.”
About the Author/Photographer
Gary Rose has spent a lifetime chasing stories worth telling. As an award-winning filmmaker, director, and photographer, he's crafted over 2,000 commercials for Nike, BMW, and Pepsi, earning a Cannes Grand Prix, an Emmy, and nearly every major advertising honor. He's photographed Mud People in Papua New Guinea, dove with Great White sharks off Isla Guadalupe in Mexico, and documented "Lonely George," the last of his species of Galápagos tortoise.
But sometimes the most extraordinary stories are hiding three miles from home.
What began as a photography project called "Eating Art" became a three-year immersion into the tight-knit community of sushi chefs and entrepreneurs who built an unlikely culinary landmark on Ventura Boulevard. As a Studio City resident and longtime customer, Gary discovered that the highest concentration of authentic sushi restaurants outside Japan existed in his own neighborhood, and that behind each restaurant was an American Dream story waiting to be told.
A 25-year member of the Directors Guild of America and co-founder of Moxie Pictures and Go Film, Gary is currently immersed in writing and photography, continuing his passion for narrative-driven imagery and conservation advocacy. Whether documenting ocean preservation or the immigrant experience on Sushi Row, he remains what he's always been: a seeker of stories, a pioneer of imagery, and a lifelong explorer.
Sushi Row - The Coffee Table Book
In restaurants on Sushi Row, local boutiques,
Bookstar - Studio City, and Amazon.
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