By April Dudash
Some of Fayetteville's best sushi is next to the grocery aisles of Fort Bragg.
Colorful sushi rolls have been part of the commissaries' offerings for almost a decade, but since new sushi chefs arrived this spring, the dish's popularity has been on a roll.
Hser Eh Htoo and Ei Ei Phyo co-own the sushi franchise at the South Post Commissary off Yadkin Road, selling a whopping $14,000 worth of food every week. Their team of seven chefs starts at 7 a.m. to fill up the display case. Each tray takes an average of two minutes to make, and the finished rolls always looks like perfection.
Both Phyo and Htoo arrived in the U.S. as young adults from Myanmar.
Htoo is from Yangon. He spent seven years in a refugee camp in Thailand, displaced by Burmese violence, before arriving in America. Phyo attended high school in Georgia. In their precious downtime, they create meals that remind them of home, fried fish or curry. But they are usually at work seven days a week, crafting both raw rolls and cooked sushi for those who squirm at the thought of raw fish. The chef sampler is a best-seller, as are party trays ($56.65) and the crunchy roll ($7.35). Regular-size rolls are $7.39, and dumplings are $3.35.
"Most of the military people, they already know what they're eating," Phyo said. "They already saw the dietitian. Sushi is one of the best, healthiest foods."