Zach Weprin is disrupting the sushi game from the last place on Earth you would expect...

Thirty years ago, the concept of a successful fast casual Midwestern sushi chain might have served as the premise of an SNL skit, or perhaps as an illustration of the word “oxymoron” in a dictionary. Today, it is a reality. Zach Weprin’s burgeoning concept FUSIAN applies Chipotle's choose-your-own-ingredients model to sushi. Since opening six years ago, Fusian has exploded throughout Ohio. It currently operates nine stores and is on the precipice of national domination.

If you just had one of those “why didn’t I think of that!?!” moments, don’t beat yourself up too much. Fusian would have been an impossible to pull off until recently, as technology has opened the doors to fresh, well-made sushi served anywhere. But that’s only half of FUSIAN's value proposition. Globalization has most restaurants—low-end to high-end, East Coast to West Coast—ordering fish from the same suppliers. Thus not only does FUSIAN serve great sushi for a reasonable price, it does it in Ohio with the exact same ingredients you would find at a fancy sushi spot in Manhattan.

Weprin, who started the chain with his brother Josh and his best friend from childhood Stephan Harman, brings a millennial mentality to an antiquated industry. We spoke to him about what it’s like to disrupt the sushi game from the absolute last places you would expect: the small, landlocked cities of Ohio.

What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?

I think the best meal I can remember is having sukiyaki in Japan. It’s a very traditional Japanese dish; meat dipped in raw eggs. Between the hospitality of the very nice lady helping us cook it and the flavors—it just blew my mind. Everything I ate in Japan was incredible. The laws there are quite different, so it’s pretty wild what you can eat. Omakase at the fish market at 3 a.m. was also a very cool experience.

What is omakase?

Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo is probably the world’s largest tuna market, and they have this crazy tuna auction every morning at three am. If you’ve seen Jiro Dreams of Sushi you know that’s where all the best restaurants buy their fish for the day. Omakase; it’s pretty much sitting at a sushi bar and the chef serves you nigiri one piece at a time. It’s like a 15-minute experience. It’s crazy. You’re in and you’re out.

Is that what Jiro does?

Yeah, he does omakase.

And are you eating at 3 a.m. because the tuna just came in?

I think we ended up eating around 6 a.m., that’s when the tuna auction ends. You can do it later but eating sushi for breakfast is the best.

That’s really cool. What did it taste like—top-end, super fresh fish?

It tastes as fresh as you can get it: perfect. The tuna just melts in your mouth. The toro! They also have a big uni auction which is great. I have never seen so much uni in my life.