A longtime Sacramento sushi chef has hung up his apron and is heading home
After more than three decades rolling, slicing and serving sushi to the Sacramento community, Taka Watanabe said it’s time for him to lay down his knife.
The experienced chef who trained Sacramento sushi players like Billy Ngo and Qui Tu made his final plate at Fuji Sacramento, 1235 Broadway, on Oct. 29, entering a new era of retirement. He posted a farewell to the community on his social media the morning of his final day behind the counter.
“I truly appreciate your warm support and kindness,” Watanabe wrote in the post. “Your support has meant the world to me, not only in my career, but in my life as a friend and member of this community. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Now, he said he’s returning to his native Brazil, hoping to settle down and focus on himself after his career consumed his life for years.
Watanabe was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, where he worked as a journalist for a major newspaper until his father’s death in 1986. After, his mother encouraged him to pursue his dream of exploring life outside Brazil.
“My mother said, ‘Hey, you want to go? Just go, I’m OK here,’” he said. “’Just go find something you want to do in life.’”
In 1987, he took the leap of faith and immigrated to the U.S. with $240 in his pocket. After briefly landing in Miami, he moved to Santa Rosa to be near a friend, where he first found a job at a sushi bar.
“I didn’t have any experience ... with food, the only experience I had was my mom cooking for me Japanese food,” Watanabe said. “But I was Japanese, I guess, and I spoke the language ... I didn’t speak any English, so it was challenging, but I survived.”
While in Santa Rosa, he met his wife, Susan, then a student at Sonoma State University. The couple married soon after and moved to Sacramento to be near Susan Watanabe’s parents in Auburn.
In the capital, Watanabe deepened his sushi chef training with a six-year apprenticeship at Shige Sushi in Carmichael, which closed in 2023. He then flew the metaphorical coop to apply his learning elsewhere, and only two years later in 1998, his boss urged him to start his own restaurant.
Taka’s Japanese Cuisine opened on S Street in downtown Sacramento, the start of a series of successful sushi establishments, including Taka’s Sushi in Fair Oaks and Ju Hachi, still open at the former Taka’s location at 1730 S St. In 2005, he helped open the still-thriving Kru in East Sacramento with Ngo and Peter Kwong.
Watanabe has a complicated relationship with success, emphasizing that his restaurants never made him “a millionaire,” but he is still happy with how his life turned out.
“I achieved ... more than I was expecting,” he said. “I had three beautiful kids, I’m still alive, I can go home.”
The Watanabes had one daughter and two sons together, who are now grown up. One of his sons is now a professional sushi chef, while his daughter pursued journalism in Southern California.
In 2019, Watanabe’s wife was diagnosed with cancer, and he stopped working at his restaurants, choosing to run a private sushi catering business with his son, which got the family through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, Susan Watanabe died from her illness, and her husband’s chef work stopped completely for months. Watanabe had committed to his retirement until longtime friend Russell Okubo of Fuji Sacramento pleaded for help at his Broadway restaurant.
Amid his grief, Watanabe worked at Fuji for three months before accepting that the decades of memories and experiences in the capital region were too much for him to handle.
“Sacramento gave me a very good life, nice people,” he said. “But I can’t live here without my wife.”
After a quick trip to Brazil in November, Watanabe will tie up any loose ends in the U.S. and return permanently to South America, though he said he will still visit California to spend time with his kids at least annually.
Watanabe said he plans to find a beach house in Búzios, a coastal town east of Rio, and do anything other than make sushi. He said he won’t miss the sushi itself, but he will certainly miss Sacramento and the community he served for 35 years.
“I’ll miss talking to people, seeing the smile on their face, that’s what I’ll miss,” he said. “It’s not because I didn’t like (making sushi), but sometimes you do something for so long, you get tired.”
What I’m Eating
A Yolo County bakery wants to simplify your dinner plans in the middle of a busy workweek. At Davis’ Upper Crust Baking, Wednesday evening has become pizza night.
Throughout the evening, the Jewish-French-American bakery focuses its efforts on torching pies using naturally leavened whole-grain crust, topped with produce and toppings often sourced from the Davis Farmers Market, according to its website. Specialty seasonal offerings keep the menu fresh, like this week’s red kuri squash pizza ($32), which features the small pumpkin-like gourd with fontina cheese, bacon bits and honey.
Pizzas must be ordered in advance — orders are closed at noon on Wednesdays if they haven’t sold out yet — so it’s not the best choice for a last-minute dinner order after an exhausting day, but it can ease most of the workload if planned properly.
For my midweek pizza night, I ordered the Pauline ($30), which comes with caramelized shallots, thick cuts of pancetta and sprigs of rosemary that feel both indulgent and elegant, as well as the vegetarian Jollity ($29) that evokes a Greek-like flavor profile with creamy goat cheese, savory Kalamata olives and sun dried tomatoes and rich pesto and roasted garlic.
All pizzas come in a standard 14-inch diameter with six slices, and Upper Crust estimates it’s good for one to three people. For my dinner of five, the two pies were a perfect portion.
Upper Crust Baking
Address: 634 G St., Davis
Hours: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; 7 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Sundays; closed Mondays. Preordered pizzas can be picked up between 4 and 7 p.m. Wednesdays.
Phone: 530-750-1180
Website: ucbaking.com
Vegetarian options: Vegetarian pizzas, baked goods
Drinks: Local wines and beer, coffee and tea
Noise level: Moderate
Outdoor seating: Patio in front of the bakery
Openings & Closings
• The owners of Iron Horse Tavern and Cafeteria 15L launched a new Mexican concept Monday. Casa Lola, 1132 16th St. in downtown Sacramento, balances a refined take on Mexican and Cali-Mex fare with traditional comfort dishes from across Mexico.
• The owners of Faria Bakery on Sacramento’s Broadway slashed its menu prices by closing sister restaurant Solimar, at 3413 Broadawy. The seasonal produce-focused eatery was shut down Monday, Oct. 27, but its popular dishes will continue to be served at Faria Bakery, The Bee previously reported.
