St Pierres is everywhere: How a French-named Sushi chain took over NZ

”Mr Takagi” and Nicholas Katsoulison a recent trip to Japan. (Image: Supplied)

Mon, 28 Apr 2025

Sometime in the early 1990s, armed with the devil-may-care confidence of a 28-year-old, a Lonely Planet guide and a few Japanese lessons, Nicholas Katsoulis found himself in a Tokyo hotel lobby holding a couple of bottles of New Zealand wine. He was waiting to meet Yoshiharu Takagi, an employee of Tokyo Mutual Trading Company, to talk about supplying the small chain of seafood delicatessens he ran with his two brothers, Perry and Costa. Though the risks of returning empty-handed were real, they never crossed his mind. &ldqu...

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