Hideko Sushi and Thai 2 (Sarasota) opened in 2017 and is run by a Thai family,

Sae-Lee, who moved to the United States in 2016. Before coming to the United States, none of the family members of Sae-Lee knew how to cook or even run a restaurant. They started from scratch, learning from the first Thai family they met here who owns and runs the first and original Hideko in Palmetto.

There are three sections in the restaurant: The dining area, Sushi, and the Kitchen. Since Hideko 2 is a smaller restaurant compared to the original Hideko (Palmetto), it has become a “family-factory” business. Mr. Sae-Lee(Dad) told me they adapted the way they used to work at home to run this restaurant. In Thailand, they run a jeans factory in their neighborhood. He said, “People know each other well, different families are responsible for one segment of the factory line just like what we do here in the restaurant.”

There are 5 workers in Hideko 2: Thairat Sae-Lee(Dad, Main Chef), Thammarat Lee (Mom, Appetizer chef), Nopparat Sae-lee (Ryu, services and check), Mike (Sushi Chef), Jessica (Dish Cleaning, Prepare ingredients). The roles of Mike and Jessica have been changing in the past, but Mike and Jessica have worked together for the longest here. Each person is responsible for different tasks and will help out each other when there is a need. Particularly Ryu always helps in and out since he is the one who serves clients outside of the kitchen. He takes care of all kinds of needs from customer services, drinks, checks, and cleaning the dining tables. They used to close the restaurant at 9 pm and get home around 11 pm, and they decided to close the restaurant earlier at 8:30 pm since Covid.