An illustration of a fisherman and 152 West 24th Street (Credit: Pixabay and Google Maps)
In New York City’s ultracompetitive restaurant industry, one eatery may have found a good way to stand out: letting patrons catch their own meals.
Zauo, a Japanese restaurant set to open later this month at 152 West 24th Street in Chelsea, will let customers go fishing for their food, according to the Wall Street Journal. Zauo will provide them with poles, bait, and tanks filled with fish like striped bass, trout and salmon.
The restaurant currently has 13 locations in Japan and roughly translates as “the fish” from Japanese. It has already attracted opposition from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, who described the concept of Zauo as “a cruel gimmick.”
The restaurant’s staff includes fishing guides who are there to help customers catch their meals and pound a celebratory drum after they succeed.
The cooking staff at Zauo then gives customers multiple choices for how they want their meal prepared, which ownership says demonstrates that they are respecting the fish.
The meals are fairly expensive, with trout going for $38 and other fish costing up to $110 each.
Manhattan lost about 1,500 restaurant seats in the first half of the year thanks to multiple incidents related to property damage. [WSJ]–Eddie Small
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