In 1998, Quincy saw the opening of its first Japanese restaurant – Fuji, marking the start of JP Fuji Group’s unprecedented growth and success in Boston’s competitive restaurant scene. As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, Sampan met with Jimmy Liang, the founder and his partner and Executive Head Chef of Sushi, Ming Cao.
Jimmy shared how he was first introduced to the art of sushi. “At 14,” he said, “I met my Sensei (teacher) who taught me sushi-making for a few years before he returned to Japan. I worked at the Tokyo restaurant in Cambridge where I honed my skills. During that era, most sushi chefs were Japanese. I was one of the few Chinese sushi chefs as well as one of the youngest”. By age 18, Jimmy became the youngest head sushi chef in Boston. He started to notice customers were following him to wherever he worked, one restaurant after another. He started to wonder, “What if I open my own restaurant?” He became the youngest Japanese restaurant owner in Boston. “When I first got into the food industry, sushi was super simple and there weren’t a lot of people eating sushi in Quincy. When I realized that an authentic Japanese sushi menu wasn’t selling, we had to create something new and more Americanized, the sushi roll.”
Ming also shared his early memories of when he came to the US at 18. “My family had just immigrated to the United States, and I had no idea what I wanted to do or could do. During that period, Jimmy shared a ten-year plan, hoping that I would join Fuji and help run a Japanese restaurant. When I got home and told my father, he was against it and wondered if I was being foolish. He wanted me to have an easier job. But I insisted on joining Jimmy’s restaurant.”
Ming remembers that his biggest challenge was management. He said that he had ten people in his kitchen, many of whom were older than him. To gain their trust, he had to put in more work than anyone else, constantly improving his skills. “But most importantly”, he explains, “It’s about caring. We are like a family. When I hire people, I lay everything out for them; tell them the facts that working in a restaurant is extremely tough, long hours with low pay; that it will take years just to master the craft. But after they learn their skills, they can work anywhere in the world. Making sushi is all about precision, starting from the basic task of washing the rice. When I first started learning how to make sushi, I genuinely thought Jimmy was crazy, because his standards were exceptionally high. He challenged me every day, pushed me to do better. Sushi is easy to learn but difficult to master.”
Jimmy’s parents were farmers from Taishan, China. They were very poor. His great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather helped build railroads in the United States. Grandfather was born in the US but lived in China. When grandfather was 50, he found his American birth certificate, and that’s when the entire family immigrated to the United States. Jimmy mused, “Although I moved to the US when I was four years old, I often feel like I’m a man without a country. I don’t have the typical American face, and when I first went back to China for business, I didn’t speak fluent Chinese, and people could smell me from ten miles away that I didn’t grow up in China. They thought I was a foreigner. I often say China is my birth parent, the US is my adoptive parent. But the United States has always been my home; it’s here I was given every opportunity, taught me everything I know, to become who I am today.”
Jimmy said, “My father didn’t even know what credit cards and checks were. At that time my family didn’t have the resources to educate ourselves. As a new immigrant, the first step is to understand the rules of the country you are in. For us, it is important to share knowledge and train our workforce. Over the years, the JP Fuji Group has collaborated with non-profit organizations to offer courses in English, finance, housing, and citizenship to help our staff living in the US.”
Jimmy’s first restaurant experience was packing takeout at a Chinese restaurant when he was 12. As immigrants at that time, there were only a few things Chinese people could do for work because they spoke no English. He said, “Although we were poor, we had the opportunity to open our own restaurant. Honestly, if you’re an immigrant now and want to start a restaurant today, the barriers are incredibly high. The costs are substantial. Running a restaurant requires a lot of goal setting, teamwork, communications, and problem solving… and as the old Chinese saying goes, success comes with favorable timing, geographical and human conditions.”
Ming also cautioned that there’s a big difference between dream and reality. “Many people dream of opening their own restaurant, but running one is a 24-hour job. From recruiting and training staff to launching new cuisine, the initial few years are exceptionally challenging. While many see that restaurants can make money, it takes more than passion. It requires 100% effort, dedication, and commitment. At Fuji, we use fresh fish every day. Sushi making is a form of art, we offer customers an exceptional experience in terms of both visual appeal and taste.”
Jimmy and Ming made a promise to each other at such a young age. They strongly believe that no matter the challenges or disagreements they face, they’ll find solutions and succeed. They both emphasize the importance of having goals, motivation, and honoring commitments, whether it’s starting a restaurant, managing a business, or accomplishing anything in life. They are a team; they are a family, providing support and encouragement along the journey. Jimmy proudly highlights that even after 25 years, the original team remains tightly connected. The philosophy of the JP Fuji Group is simple: good food and hard work.
JP Fuji Group is the first major sushi restaurant group in Boston. The group owns 9 restaurants and have expanded into Cambridge, Somerville, South End, Newton. Just a few months ago, Jimmy retired from Fuji, he said, “There is an old saying that students become teachers. Now when we work together, we learn from each other. Sometimes, I still help write the menus and taste profiles. Being a chef and a cook is a different mentality. Although Ming says that I often challenge him, he always keeps me on my toes, as I must live up to the title of his Sensei (teacher).”
