Zumi is a revolving sushi bar at 1588 Alberni Street in Vancouver, where guests take plates from a moving belt and pay by the plate. The owner wanted people to see the food and the room the moment the website opened. While the restaurant was being finished, the site also collected a guest list: by opening day, 1,122 people had left their email address to hear when the doors opened.
What the website needed to do.
The owner wanted the site to feel premium and elegant, in red and black, while the prices stay friendly. Zumi takes no reservations and no online orders, so the site’s job is to show the food and bring people to the counter.
What we built.
The homepage opens on a film from the restaurant’s July 2026 photo shoot: sashimi, a chef slicing fish, nigiri and a whole sea bream, playing as soon as the page loads.
Below it, visitors can drag a row of plates sideways, the way plates pass at the counter. A panel tells the story of the building, the Alberni tower designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, beside a chef holding a sea bream.
Our Story, Location and Contact complete the site. The Location page gives the address, the hours and a map.
A guest list before opening.
The site went live on August 19, 2026, two months before the restaurant opened. That night we turned the homepage into a pre-opening page: one email box, with the promise of the opening date, the hours and a first look at the menu.
From August 21 to opening day, October 25, 1,122 people signed up, 982 of them through the box at the top of the homepage. More than half arrived in the last five days, after Daily Hive announced the opening on October 21 and linked to the site.
| Period | Sign-ups |
|---|---|
| August 21 to September 30 | 155 |
| October 1 to 20 | 370 |
| October 21 to 25 | 597 |
| Total | 1,122 |
On October 26, the day after opening, we took the sign-up box down and opened the Story, Location and Contact pages.