YO! sushi openings do not reach cape town

THE owner of the Yo! Sushi chain is taking legal advice after learning that a restaurant of the same name has opened in South Africa.

Simon Woodroffe, who plans international expansion next year starting in New York, said that he was approached by South African businessmen at a trade exhibition in January, who were very interested in the Yo! Sushi brand.

He has since learned that a restaurant called Yo Sushi (without the exclamation mark) has opened in Cape Town.

Yo! Sushi this week opened its third London restaurant in department store Selfridges, and is due to open a fourth in November. It is also converting the basement of its Poland Street site into a bar to open before December, to be called Yo! Below.

Woodroffe said that he is in talks with a number of companies and individuals to open a "huge" restaurant in New York by the end of next year, and is also considering joint venture partnerships to expand the chain into European cities.