Our Story • Just Poké

OUR STORY | OUR FISH | CORE VALUES | PRESS

Just Poké is a healthy local poké chain in the Pacific Northwest, with restaurants located throughout Western Washington.

As two boys born and raised in Seattle, eating healthy and living right has always been an important part of our lives. We first discovered poke while chasing sunsets in Maui. The store was a small shack, but the poke left a big impression. When we made the decision to open our first location, we had one theme in mind: Give More. It’s a simple idea, but one we take to heart. So we set out to run our business the right way. From our vendors and partners, to our employees and customers, we decided to put people first. We turned away big national players with lower prices, preferring instead to partner with local vendors. In constructing our stores, we used recycled materials, energy efficient lighting and low VOC paint. We decided against cheap plastic inventory that was bad for the environment and pursued materials that were biodegradable and compostable. For us, Washington isn’t just a state to do business in, it’s a home to take care of. Our belief is a simple one.

Eat Clean, Act Right, and Live Well
— Danny & Norman

All our tuna is line caught by hand from the Pacific Ocean and is rated #1 USA Sashimi Grade. The standards and specs of our tuna exceed USFDA standards and are triple graded – on boat, at port, and at facility. This can only be done if tuna is processed fresh. The methods used for catching tuna are dolphin, sea turtle & sea mammal safe.

Our salmon is purchased from Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certified producers with traceability from boat or farm to delivery.

Just Poké has been certified as an Ocean Friendly Restaurant by the Surfrider Foundation. Ocean Friendly Restaurants make a pledge to use less plastic and take other steps to help protect our ocean, waves, and beaches.

Just Poké purchases our salmon from Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certified producers with complete traceability from boat or farm to delivery. BAP is the world’s most trusted, comprehensive and proven third-party aquaculture certification program.

PEOPLE
Our goal is to Give More, that means running our business the right way, while thinking of others along the way. From the local businesses and vendors we partner with to source high quality, sustainable, natural and nutritious ingredients for our menu. To our team members we rely on to provide exceptional customer service each day. To our guests who seek us out to make this whole dream possible. Every decision we make as a business ties back to each of these stakeholders. With this philosophy driving our daily operations, we know we can create amazing value for our guests, partners, and staff, as we all grow together along this great journey

PASSION
In the hospitality industry, our fundamental role is to be of service. To us, that means putting others before ourselves. To continually and proactively think of new ways to better serve the interests of our guests, our partners and our team members. We could choose to simply open our doors each day and sell delicious bowls of poke, but we know we can do so much more than that. As two boys born and raised in Seattle, we like to think of our business not in terms of a giant part of our world, but as a small part of the Community and City we love. We push ourselves to perform even ordinary tasks at an extraordinary level in every aspect of the business; from menu research and development, to team member training, to manager mentorship.

PRODUCT
No restaurant can survive without great food! With that truth in mind, we turned to the best local sources. It all begins by using only sustainably sourced fish of the highest quality available. From there we partnered with local suppliers for our produce to ensure freshness with a keen awareness of overall environmental impact. After subjecting our friends and family to extensive taste testing, we found a few secret ingredients to finish off our recipes, and the result is a delicious meal that is as fun to look at as it is to eat. Our hope is that each guest will leave with the feeling that we’ve fulfilled more than just their hunger and return with a desire for more than just good food.

If you are a journalist, influencer, blogger, or editor and interested in featuring Just Poké, please contact us.

Just Poké’s first food truck opens on Mercer Island

Sep27

As featured in My Mercer Island, September 27, 2020, by Naomi Tomky Danny Brawer and Norman Wu met in the fourth grade at Lakeridge elementary on Mercer Island and stayed fast friends through their youth and young adulthood. Various entrepreneurial ventures kept them connected throughout the years and between cities – Seattle and Los Angeles. Their most recent business is a fast-casual restaurant called Just Poké, which brings them back to the island with a delicious

Cofounder Norman Wu Speaks On Expert Panel At Regional Business Summit

Sep11

The Regional Business Summit‘s line up of local Eastside business experts this year, which includes Just Poké cofounder Norman Wu for the first time. The Eastside business leaders will discuss how they are working toward recovery and sharing their best practices. Engage with the experts and learn how they have pivoted to meet the needs of their customers in our post COVID-19 world. Norman Wu (co-founder of Just Poke) will discuss how Just Poke’s business

Just Poké Expands to Mercer Island

Aug14

Home Sweet Home! With co-founders born and raised on Mercer Island, we are so excited to open our Mercer Island location on Thursday, August 17! As our 11th Just Poké store as well as our first food truck, the Just Poké truck will be parked at Haps Burgers from 11am-8pm everyday of the week. Big shout out to the Homegrown Team and very excited to partner with another local Mercer Island entrepreneur. Come check out

Seattle Refined: ‘People over Profits’ is the Just Poké motto

Aug13

The following article by Susan George appeared in Seattle Refined on August 13, 2020: I’ve always struggled with weighing the convenience of fast food with the unhealthy toll it can take on your body. With most restaurants still being restricted due to the pandemic, take out options are more valuable than ever. Luckily, I’ve found one restaurant that combines clean eating and convenience so you can fuel your body well while on the go or

Just Poké wins Best of 425 Vegetarian Restaurant

Jun01

425 Magazine awards Just Poké Best of 2020 in the Vegetarian restaurant category: “Seattle natives Danny Brawer and Norman Wu fell in love with poke during a trip to Maui, and so they decided to open their own poke restaurant here in Washington. The stores were constructed with recycled materials, and the friends even decided to do away with cheap, throwaway plastics and instead opted for containers that are biodegradable and compostable. Stop in for

Responding to COVID-19

Mar16

To our loyal and amazing customers, Rest assured, we’ve been working hard behind-the-scenes to make sure Just Poke stores and respective teams are safe during this crisis. The set of slides outline most of the steps we’ve taken thus far. We are currently preparing for every scenario as should you. In our internal team memo, we told our team not to panic, but to also take things seriously. Starting tomorrow, we will only be allowed

Just Poké Certified as Ocean Friendly Restaurant

Oct15

We have something exciting to share! All of our Just Poké location have become certified as an Ocean Friendly Restaurant by the Surf Rider Foundation. More on the certification: Ocean Friendly Restaurant, which means that they take proactive steps to eliminate single-use plastics, such as not providing polystrene foam, not offering plastic bags, providing only reusable tableware, recycling effectively, and serving straws only on request. Some of our restaurants also go the extra mile and

Bellingham Business Journal: Poke Restaurant Opening Location in Bellingham

Apr09

In the March 5, 2019 Bellingham Business Journal: A poke and acai bowl restaurant is set to open soon in downtown Bellingham. Nathan and Alisha Spencer are opening Just Poke and Verve Bowls at 201 East Chestnut St., Bellingham. Just Poke and Verve Bowls are both based in Seattle and have multiple locations there. The Bellingham location will be a partnership between the two businesses, and will be a fast-casual restaurant serving poke, acai bowls

Eat Seattle: New Just Poké Renton Location

Oct12

New Just Poké Renton Location Now Open, More Coming Soon New Just Poké Renton Location Now Open, More Coming Soon by Kelly Wright The newest Just Poké location opened its doors last week on October 2nd at the Renton Landing, 727 N 10th St, Suite G Renton WA 98057. Dine in, carry out or order delivery of the freshest of poké bowls that you can build to order from a wealth of sauces, proteins, mix-ins

EXPANSION OF JUST POKÉ TO SEATTLE

Sep19

Poké and Açai Lovers Are Invited to Celebrate Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, September 23 SEATTLE, WA (September 19, 2018) – Just Poké, the Pacific Northwest inspired fast-casual poke chain founded by Seattle natives Daniel Brawer and Norman Wu, has announced the Grand Opening of its first Seattle metro restaurant in the Fremont neighborhood as it expands from its five Eastside locations in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond and Issaquah. The Grand Opening weekend on September 22–23,

425 Magazine: Just Poké Co-Founders are 2018’s 30 Under 30

Sep04

Just Poké co-founders Danny Brawer and Norman Wu made the cut for 425 Magazine’s 2018 30 Under 30. This year’s 30 Under 30 competition opened our eyes to so many ambitious, goal-oriented, and passionate Eastsiders that we had a hard time selecting the honorees. There was a 16-year-old high school student whose technology startup is rapidly gaining ground. There was a TV reporter who knew who she wanted to be even as she left the

GRAND OPENING OF JUST POKÉ REDMOND TOWN CENTER

Jun13

Poké and Açai Lovers Are Invited to Celebrate Friday, June 15 through Sunday, June 17 SEATTLE, WA (June 13, 2018) – Just Poké, the Pacific Northwest inspired fast-casual poke chain founded by Seattle natives Daniel Brawer and Norman Wu, has announced the Grand Opening of its fourth Seattle area restaurant. Complementing the existing locations in Bellevue, Factoria and Kirkland, the latest Just Poké restaurant is conveniently located at Redmond Town Center. The Grand Opening weekend

Seattle Times — March 28, 2018

Mar28

Seattle Times article “Does Seattle have a poke problem?” discusses the recent expansion of fast-casual poke spots across the Seattle area, including Just Poké’s thoughts on the trend: Just Poké co-owner Norman Wu isn’t fretting about any poke glut. “There’s going to be competition,” he says, “but you can’t worry too much.” He thinks the Seattle area “can definitely support a lot of each type of food category,” and he sees poke as “playing a

JUST POKÉ ANNOUNCES GRAND OPENING OF NEW FACTORIA LOCATION

Feb12

Poke Lovers Are Invited to Celebrate Friday, February 16 through Sunday, February 18 SEATTLE, WA (February 12, 2018) – Just Poké, the Pacific Northwest inspired fast-casual poke chain founded by Seattle natives Daniel Brawer and Norman Wu, has announced the Grand Opening of its third Seattle area restaurant. Complementing the existing locations in downtown Bellevue and Kirkland, the latest Just Poké restaurant is conveniently located inside the Marketplace @ Factoria Mall on Factoria Blvd SE.

Just Poké: Just like a Maui Sunset — Kirkland Living Magazine, March 2017

Mar31

Just Poké: Just like a Maui Sunset Rainy January evenings are usually grey and chill, but on this evening for our Neighbors’ Night Out we popped into the fresh, bright space of Just Poké and were able to share in the warmth of the colorful Hawaiian inspired cuisine. Just following the holidays, the myriad of healthy choices was a perfect way to start the new year off. Guests were able to select their own hand