When Jose Luis Alvarez moved from Mexico City to California at the age of 15, he would often skip class to make sushi. Since then, he has been developing a seemingly endless list of fusion recipes that incorporate flavors from Japanese cuisine with those from his home country.
“It’s hard to learn Japanese cuisine when you’re from a different culture,” Alvarez told What Now Las Vegas. “When I started eating sushi, I thought there was no flavor. So that’s when I thought, let’s put lime juice on it, let’s put jalapenos, cilantro, and all kinds of Mexican flavors on it.”
The food truck focuses on hibachi and sushi, but Alvarez hopes to expand the menu once they move into the new restaurant space.
Louie Louie will soon feature sushi rolls with pico de gallo, fish tacos with togarashi sauce, shrimp tacos, ceviche, poke and more.
“I’ve always wanted to open my own restaurant,” Alvarez told What Now Las Vegas. “I’ve had this dream ever since I started in sushi twenty years ago when I was in high school.”
According to a permit application, the official business name is Louie Louie the Restaurant, Sushi Bar y Mas. This restaurant will be replacing Kaisho Sushi + Ramen at 4408 N Rancho Dr. in Northwest Las Vegas.
Louie Louie will open its doors this April, after “two difficult years” of operating out of a food truck. “The dream’s coming true,” Alvarez said.
