MINNEAPOLIS - From the grocery store to your dinner table.
Minnesota is welcoming its first conveyor belt sushi spot with open arms.
Sushi Train, which just opened its doors about a week ago, is giving local sushi lovers their latest shtick.
PHOTOS: Sushi Train in Minneapolis
The concept has been a hit in Japan since 1957 but hasn't made its way to the Twin Cities -- or Minnesota, for that matter -- until now.
"We spent about a year to do our research," said Kevin Ni, co-founder and manager of Sushi Train. "Everyone can actually take their own food, the one that they like, instead of a traditional restaurant where you have to order and have to wait."
Here's how it works ...
Guests grab a seat at a table which is situated next to a long, looping conveyor belt that circles the entire restaurant.
There's no wait time, no ordering ... you see it, you like it, you take it.
Instead of reading through a menu, you watch small plates of sushi roll past you -- each on a different color plate which denotes the price.
Prices range from about $1.25 to roughly $5 per plate.
Ni said they put freshness and quality at the top of their priorities, and a computer system helps them automate that process.
Each plate is only on the conveyor belt for 30 minutes ... if it doesn't get picked by a customer by that time, the conveyor belt removes it. A chip inside each plate tells the system how long it's been on the track.
"There’s a bar that’s built inside, as soon as the plate goes by, it will eject the food out," Ni said.
And while the quality of the food is a priority, he said it’s the quality of the experience that’s most important to him.
"By watching all the customers that come in, they all have a smile on their face and they enjoy all the food, it just makes me feel good," Ni said. "It's just really exciting."
Sushi Train is located on 1200 Nicollet Mall in Minneapolis.