Listen to this article 5 min
Abe Ng
CEO, Sushi Maki
Residence: Pinecrest
Age: 50
When Sushi Maki founder Abe Ng announced a “Seemingly Sushi Roll” earlier this month, the culinary creation capitalized on his marketing panache.
Inspired by a viral shot of Taylor Swift dipping chicken in ketchup and what appeared to be ranch sauce, his concoction – tempura chicken with bacon, lettuce and tomato with a spicy sauce – is now available at Sushi Maki restaurants across South Florida.
The son of Hong Kong immigrants who opened Chinese restaurants in New York before moving south in the late 1960s, Miami-born Ng graduated from Cornell University in 1995.
After a little over a year with Ernst & Young, Ng launched an ill-fated burrito restaurant in 1997. Then, in 2000, sensing the need for “affordable, tasteful sushi restaurants,” he created Sushi Maki. But first, he learned the trade – attending a sushi school, visiting salmon farms in Norway and lobster boats in Nova Scotia, running the back office. Today, Sushi Maki has more than two dozen locations, including stand-alone restaurants, Whole Foods Market stations, in university and hospital dining halls, and airport concession locations.
“In 2000, we were just a restaurant the local neighborhood embraced,” he said. “We became a brand people could trust.”
How do you define success? Having a sustained effort and energy through the inevitable setbacks. Sparks of inspiration can come, but success is the ability to stick with it – the grit.
As a leader, what drives you? Being a good example. I look at the world from a generational standpoint. I’m the sandwich generation. I want to honor my parents, and be a good example for the generation behind me. I’m the caretaker of what we do in the family.
What moment exemplifies your leadership style? During Covid, I was reaching out to competitors, to suppliers, to our guests, to the government, trying to figure out how we were going to make sense of this. In government, there were opportunities to prepare meals for the less fortunate. That work drew on our relationships. They trusted the brand Sushi Maki, and they trusted me personally. That was a defining moment. It’s investing in these relationships when times are good because when times get rocky, you lean on those trusted relationships.
How have you changed as a leader? At this point, it’s working through the team and having authentic joy in seeing [them] make plans, learn from missteps and celebrate success. I’ve learned to surrender to the pace of the team. An African proverb says, “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” If you want to have an impact, don’t be a founder. Build that strength in your team.
What do you like most – and least – about leading? What I like most is seeing a team come together in the beginning when everybody is a little suspicious about what we’re trying to do. What I like least is the lack of patience I see in team members today. The world of five- to 10-year employees might not be the case anymore. We’re seeing employee cycles of a year or two. It might take a while to see a project come to fruition. I love it when a team can go through that cycle together.
Leadership-wise, what keeps you up nights? Right now, it’s the expense of living here in South Florida and Miami in particular. I feel for the quality of life for people, and it’s not getting any better. We need to keep pace to grow our sales and profits, so we can pay competitive salaries and wages. It’s life in the big city, but it keeps me up at night.
Personal note: I’m always taking notes. When we’re at restaurants, my family teases that I look underneath the plate to see who manufactures it. I really dissect the operations.
Sign up here for the Business Journal’s free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news impacting South Florida. For more business intelligence, follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.
