MEREDITH — For three years, Myint Soe made sushi for a franchise that supplied supermarkets, and learned that well-made sushi would sell well in central New Hampshire. In 2021, he opened his first shop, in Laconia, and learned he could build a following under his own brand: Koung Sushi Mart. Then he opened a second location in a strip mall in Concord, and the lesson from that experience was that he needs to have foot traffic in order to drive success.
And so, for his third shop, he picked a storefront in the heart of Meredith Village, on Main Street across from the post office, and his experience so far has proven everything he’s learned to date is correct.
The Meredith location of Koung Sushi opened on July 3, and Soe said business, which is strictly take-away, has been good so far.
“I like it,” Soe said. “I’m [spending] the whole day working, I’m happy.”
Soe was bowled over by the community response when he opened his first shop in Laconia. Last year, his second shop, in Concord, didn’t find the same kind of demand, which he chalks up to a poor choice of location. It’s in a small commercial development on Loudon Road, a busy thoroughfare, but one which gets very few pedestrians. Instead of keeping busy, as he would prefer, he's had idle stretches there.
Soe learned potential costumers want to look in the window and see a clean shop, walk in and smell how fresh the fish is, then will feel comfortable placing an order.
That’s exactly what’s happening in Meredith, where Soe said the community has been “welcoming” since he opened his doors.
“Meredith is foot traffic, the same as in Laconia,” Soe said. Several customers have placed an order, visited a nearby shop or bar, then come back for their sushi.
Though Meredith borders Laconia, Soe said he doesn’t see the two storefronts as competing with each other. The Laconia store caters to customers from that city and Gilford, Soe said, while the Meredith location serves people from this town, as well as from Moultonborough and Plymouth.
Soe is a native of Myanmar, who learned to make sushi in his native country, and used that skill to build a new life for himself and his family in the Granite State. While he gets the Meredith store up and running, his children and his sister are serving customers in Laconia.
Soe expressed gratitude for the successes he’s found so far.
“The customers help me. They come in, they like my sushi, that’s how I grow my business,” Soe said. “Every customer, I appreciate it. Thank you, thank you.”
(1) comment
Would the intrepid reporter please tell the readers what the address of these great sounding restaurants are so we can perhaps visit them? Why write a newspaper article about these nice places when you won't even say where they are?
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