Restaurants and businesses fail all too frequently on Third Avenue in downtown Chula Vista, but California Sushi has maintained its popularity through the great recession and now hopes to survive streetscape.

California Sushi, which is located at 337 Third, has a modest mustard-colored facade and is sandwiched between a hookah lounge and a bar. Outside, the sidewalk is decorated with charming orange construction cones and yellow warning ribbons because Third Avenue is in the second phase of reconstruction which begins at Madrona Street and ends just north of F Street.

When I went to interview the head sushi chef, Martín Hernández, at noon on Monday, August 3, the restaurant was so packed Hernández asked if I could come back at 3:00. But, even at 3:00 all the booths were full, as well as the outside tables.

When I finally sat down with Hernández, he said he has been head chef since the restaurant opened in September 2001. He’s been integral in shaping the Mexican/Japanese fusion menu that has made the restaurant so popular.

Hernández was born in Tijuana, raised in Los Angeles and now has settled in Temecula with his family, but he said the patrons are mostly locals—people from Imperial Beach, National City and Chula Vista. Because there are so many clients, the restaurant employs 14 people.

What’s the secret, how has California Sushi managed to stay in business so long on a street that has been declining for years?

Hernández said he thinks it’s a combination of three things—loyal customers, the great service, and keeping the menu unchanged. “Our products have been the same since we opened. I handle that, I think it’s really important that when people walk in they know the food will be the same.”

Hernández did not get to use his creative side at the beginning of his career. “I was working as a dishwasher in a restaurant on Third and Oxford, Utage, when one of the chefs quit on the spot. My boss came to me and said we need you to fill in— I didn’t want to do it. But the owner asked me just to help make the basic rolls—California and Philadelphia.”

At this point in our conversation, Hernández smiles and gestures around the packed restaurant and says, “And from there to here. I feel very fortunate to have learned how to make sushi from a nice man, a Japanese man, I know more about Japanese food than I can use here in California Sushi because it’s not what the clients want.”

Among others, Hernández has invented the Jalapeño roll—with eel, shrimp, crab deep fried and topped with Jalapeño slices and the Lemon Roll— spicy tuna, cucumber, cilantro, yellowtail, smelt roe, chili peppers, and scallions.

He said his inventions are a product of customer requests. “People will say, ‘Make me something Martín.’ and I ask, like what do you like, something cooked, or something from the raw side…something deep-fried?

The most popular roll that Hernández has invented comes from the raw side of the menu and is called the Taco Mexicano. “I came up with it when the owner, Hernán Castillo, was one of my customers.”

Hernandez says,“I makeTaco Mexicano with tuna, shrimp, yellow tail, salmon, avocado, cream cheese, cilantro, cucumber, radish sprouts. Once the roll is made I put some spicy mayonnaise with Sriracha hot sauce on top. I also put a cilantro sauce on top which is made of mayo, serrano peppers and cilantro.

I asked Hernández to describe in Spanish how he makes the roll:

“El taco mexicano está hecho de camarón, atún, salmón, y cola amarilla (jurel). También tiene aguacate, queso filadelfia, pepino, cilantro, y tiene radish sprouts, I don’t know how to say that in Spanish. Y cuando está terminado le pongo unas salsas arriba. Una salsa mayonesa con chile sriracha y una salsa cilantro que consiste de cilantro, mayonesa, y chiles serranos. Y para amarrar le pongo un arbolito de chiles arriba.”

Over the soft restaurant music we could hear the sounds of demolition. I asked, Is streetscape going to help your business?

“Not during construction,” he said. “Hopefully it will later on. But I don’t know how we’re going to do it because they’re going to tear out all that sidewalk, and after the streetscape, there will be fewer spaces because they’re going to put in parallel parking like they have down at the other end of Third [by H Street]. And the city’s selling the parking lot out in back of the restaurant—so altogether we’ll have less parking…I don’t know what’s going on.”

What does Third Avenue need to do to attract more business?

“Well parking is a big issue. There’s no signs that say there are parking lots behind the businesses, or that there is free parking behind Fuddruckers. And I don’t think they should charge for parking. [The city pays Ace parking to police the meters in the area.]

“If it was free to park, more customers would come to Third Avenue. Sometimes our customers forget to put money in the meters and boom they have a ticket. If their bill was $50.00, then $35.00 for a ticket, that’s $85.00 just to come and eat, sometimes I’m afraid they won’t ever come back.”