Daniel Der infront of Umi Sushi in the Place Riel food court.

Growing up, Daniel Der watched as his family’s buffet restaurant business branched out from just a few eateries in Saskatoon to a franchise of food court outlets with over 125 locations across North America.

Now, after finishing a management degree from the Edwards School of Business in 2010, he’s running his own location — and it’s not far from the classrooms where he cut his teeth.

Der locked up a high-traffic spot in lower Place Riel three years ago and opened Umi Sushi just as the students’ union was completing a $29-million renovation to the food court and student centre.

And taking advantage of college students’ seemingly bottomless appetite for sushi has paid off. Each weekday, Der manages 10 to 12 employees and often serves up more than 100 rolls.

In just the past few months, the location has expanded to include Flaming Wok, giving buyers the choice between Chinese or Japanese cuisine.

“We found that there was no Asian food on campus — or a very limited selection — so we decided that it would be a good idea to put in a Flaming Wok since my family has a background in both,” Der said.

Both Umi Sushi and Flaming Wok are subsidiary brands of Der’s family business, The Famous Wok Group, which got its start in Saskatoon but is now headquartered in Vancouver, B.C.

Other brands in the group include Famous Wok, Flaming Wok, Sizzling Wok, Famous Cajun Grill, Famous Sushi, and Umi of Japan — all franchise outlets that can be found in almost any big food court across Canada and the United States.

“I think I chose management because my parents are entrepreneurs and I kind of felt the need to go to business school,” Der said. “I think that helped out, though at first I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

In Der’s third year of university, he partnered with his older brother David and two of their cousins to start up the Umi Sushi in the Midtown Plaza downtown. Now Der leaves that site up to them and manages the campus location on his own. He says he definitely appreciates the separation from his partners.

“I like being able to take control of everything instead of waiting for others,” Der said. “But I’m pretty laid back actually. I try to focus on customer service and food quality as well.”

Umi Sushi and Flaming Wok receive their seafood from British Columbia, beef from Alberta and remaining meats and produce from Saskatchewan.

“When I was in high school there was like no sushi in Saskatoon,” Der said. “I really liked it growing up and I really wanted to start something. I always thought it was great oppurtunity. I was thinking about that a long time ago.”

Now he is already thinking about what’s next. Eventually, maybe even within a couple years, he’d like to start up more businesses.

“That’s the goal,” he said.

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf