For owner Jim Thistle, expanding into sushi was a perfect fit for the store’s next move.

“Sushi is a natural extension of what we do: providing high-quality, responsible products,” Thistle said. It helped, he added, that they were able to find a sushi chef who worked well with the products.

Since they started offering sushi at the stores, it has taken off, becoming popular quicker than Thistle thought it would.

“It’s been really well-received,” Thistle said. “It instantly became a big part of the business.”

He said he thought the sushi would grow slowly in popularity. But Thistle credits the instant success to the unique and interesting types of sushi they’re providing.

Sushi is new to the Westport location. It has been served up in Cos Cob and New Canaan for a while. 

The head sushi chef works in Greenwich and comes up with all the different rolls for each of the stores. This includes rolls using black rice and rice paper and cucumber, as well as making a sushi sandwich.

All of the fish used for the sushi is of the highest quality and FDA approved, he said. But sushi is not made from the same fish that they already bring into the store. There are different requirements for sushi fish.

In addition to the sushi, both the Cos Cob and Westport store are getting a face-lift, from the lobster tanks to the shelving for dry products and the signs inside the store. And a lot of that includes making sure the customers know where their fish is coming from, Thistle said.

“We’re dealing with very educated markets here,” he said.

He said they go to fish markets and search for the best fish to bring back to Greenwich. Only the top fish are chosen and broken down to sell in the other stores. 

Thistle bought Fjords a little over two years ago and since then has worked to update the Cos Cob and Westport locations to reflect the high-quality products sold. In January, they opened their third store in New Canaan.

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