Just for fun: a Business Journal illustration imagines a Wassabi Korean barbecue concept. (Cecilia Lopez/The Business Journal)

Fresno sushi institution Wassabi was founded 20 years ago at a busy Fresno intersection, and now word is out from the restaurateur that a new Asian concept is in the works there.

 

KC Choi founded Wassabi To Die For at the Northern Village Shopping Center in 2006. That original location closed about 10 years later and two popular sister restaurants launched — Wassabi Off the Hook and Wassabi On Fire. Now, Choi has plans for a homecoming at First and Herndon avenues.

The Wassabi Fresno Instagram account made a post Wednesday about the 20-year anniversary, dropping in the comments that Choi had purchased the shopping center and plans to open a Korean steakhouse in the former TGI Friday’s location that closed in January 2024.

The Wassabi Instagram page responded to a direct message saying construction could start this summer.

 

The Business Journal reported in February that the 30,751-square-foot Northern Village Shopping Center had been sold to KC Family Holding Company LLC. The TGI Fridays closed in 2024 after 45 years in the same location. 

A college student from Korea, Choi bootstrapped the Wassabi To Do For location, demolitioning the unit himself with a hammer and crowbar and working alongside the construction crew to save costs. He started his first day of business with a bounced check of $650 in his business account, according to the Instagram post.

In the early 2010s Choi opened Wassabi Off The Hook at Fig Garden Village. He later expanded with Wassabi On Fire at Willow and Nees avenues, currently operating both restaurants.