Tucson restaurateur behind Hoki Poki looking to expand to 5 additional locations

It’s only been a couple months, but with business booming at Hoki Poki, Tucson restaurateur Bin An is already talking about opening his second poke restaurant.

An has signed a letter of intent for a space at 10235 E. Old Vail Road, near the Las Plazas at Old Vail. The sprawling commercial area off South Houghton and East Old Vail roads is just south of a 4,900-home Rita Ranch master-planned community.

An said he hopes to open in November.

“Doing my homework out there, I noticed that every restaurant that’s there is packed,” said An, who opened Hoki Poki at 6501 E. Grant Road in late April.

The Rita Ranch/Vail location will be one of six in the greater Tucson area that An plans to eventually open. He is eyeing locations in Marana, central Tucson and Sahuarita, although he’s not committed to anything beyond the Rita Ranch space, he said.

“I’ve been thrilled to death by the response I’ve been getting from people,” he said Wednesday, hours after he posted a note on Facebook to residents of Vail and Rita Ranch about the possibility of also bringing a small version of his upscale MiAn Sushi & Modern Asian Cuisine to the area.

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Hoki Poki is the second venture for An, son of iconic Tucson restaurateur Kwang C. An (Mr. An). In spring 2017, he opened his upscale MiAn on the ground floor of Tucson Electric Power company’s headquarters at 88 E. Broadway.

Almost exactly a year later, he announced plans for Hoki Poki, saying in March that he wanted to offer Tucson a healthier dining option. Poke is deconstructed sushi: raw fish and sushi rice dressed in various sauces, served in a bowl and topped with vegetables.

Poke is a fairly new genre to Tucson’s dining landscape. The first poke eatery came in May 2017 when PokeZone opened at 54 W. Congress. Since then, a number of sushi restaurants have added poke to their menus and several poke-centric restaurants have popped up; Hoki Poki was among the first wave.

An said business at the Grant Road Hoki Poki has been “going so well that I want to do more.”

“It’s been fun. I have really enjoyed the Hoki Poki. We’ve been so busy. It’s been silly busy,” said An, who admitted he’s emboldened by the restaurant’s out-of-the-box success to grow the brand.

“I think there’s so many people who live out in the Vail area and so few restaurants. There’s nothing with a healthy alternative,” he said.