Toshi Ueki — Founding Partner, Blue Ribbon Sushi
Role: Founding Partner, Blue Ribbon Sushi Born: Japan, 1951 Moved to US: 1969 (age 18) Passed: 2020s (exact date not confirmed in sources) Partnership with Blue Ribbon: 1995–death
Career in Japan
- Started in kappo-style restaurants of Kyoto at age 16
- Kappo is a formal Japanese culinary tradition emphasizing knife work, seasonal ingredients, and counter dining — the direct ancestor of modern omakase
Career in the US
- Kiicho NYC — 1969 to 1976 (arrived with this restaurant)
- Sushi Kazu NYC — 1976 to 1986
- Own restaurant — 1986 to 1995
Blue Ribbon Partnership
Toshi met eric-bromberg and bruce-bromberg in 1995. That year, they opened Blue Ribbon Sushi at 119 Sullivan Street in SoHo — the original sushi location. The partnership between Toshi’s four decades of Japanese culinary mastery and the Brombergs’ hospitality vision created a new category in New York dining.
bowie-fu joined as a waiter at the Sullivan Street opening and built his entire career in the division Toshi helped found.
Legacy
Upon Toshi’s death, eric-bromberg and bruce-bromberg honored him by naming a 12-seat omakase restaurant in his memory: Ueki (West Village). This intimate format — the most personal expression of Japanese culinary tradition — was a deliberate tribute to how Toshi understood food.
“Toshi continues to be a powerful and enduring symbol of what we strive to accomplish in our restaurants and in life each and every day.” — Blue Ribbon official statement
Significance for Brand
Toshi’s story is one of the most important in the Blue Ribbon canon. A Japanese master who spent decades in New York before meeting the Brombergs — the partnership was built on mutual respect and shared standards, not a business transaction. This origin story is central to the authenticity of the sushi division.
Ueki Restaurant (Memorial)
The Ueki restaurant (ueki) is the most direct expression of Toshi’s legacy within the Blue Ribbon family. The 12-seat omakase format — counter dining, chef-driven progression, no choices — mirrors the kappo tradition Toshi first trained in at age 16 in Kyoto.
The sake program at Ueki is particularly significant: ranging from approachable Junmai at 600/bottle and a flagship Daiginjo at $1,070/bottle (Asahi Shuzo Tsugo), the depth and curation of the program reflects the sake culture Toshi brought to Blue Ribbon Sushi beginning in 1995. Blue Ribbon’s own-label sakes (Junmai, Ginjo, Daiginjo, Genshu, Nigori) are all featured on the list — a through-line from Toshi’s original vision to the present.
Location History
The original Ueki omakase operated at 34 Downing St, West Village, NYC. That location has since closed; the space now operates as Blue Ribbon Sushi & Sake.
A new Ueki is planned to open inside Blue Ribbon Sushi Palisades Village (Los Angeles) at the end of summer 2026 — the concept continuing in a new city, inside a location that itself is a post-wildfire reopening.
See: ueki