Where Business Meets Creativity: Jesse Ito’s Recipe for Success

A Rutgers–Camden education, a family restaurant, and a passion for creating memorable experiences helped shape the James Beard Award-winning chef’s approach to entrepreneurship.

For Jesse Ito, every milestone in his career can be traced to the sacrifices his parents made decades ago. After immigrating to the United States in the 1970s, Massaharu and Yeonghui Ito opened and operated Fuji, a respected sushi restaurant in South Jersey. Their determination, long hours, and commitment to excellence built a thriving business and left a lasting impression on Ito, who learned firsthand what it takes to sustain a business through both prosperous and difficult times.

The James Beard Award-winning chef and Rutgers School of Business–Camden alum now applies those lessons to his own restaurants – the award-winning Royal Sushi & Izakaya and his newest, Dancerobot – where his drive to elevate every aspect of the dining experience has become a hallmark of his success.

“I grew up watching my parents work extremely hard, and I joined them when I was 14, washing dishes, cutting vegetables, and cleaning fish,” Ito said. “Their unwavering work ethic taught me that when people are counting on you, you find a way to keep pushing forward.”

For Ito, pushing forward meant building on the foundation he developed at his parents’ restaurant by gaining a deeper understanding of what makes a business succeed. Although he initially considered culinary school, he chose a more practical path, enrolling at Rutgers School of Business–Camden while continuing to work at Fuji. As he studied business in the classroom, he immediately put those lessons into practice at the restaurant, helping his parents identify new ways to strengthen and grow their operation even before he graduated.

“I was attending school during the financial collapse around 2008 and 2009, and I saw firsthand the impact it had on a small business,” Ito said. “There were days when our sales for both lunch and dinner didn’t even reach $800. Seeing my family struggle through that made me want to take what I was learning at Rutgers–Camden and apply it right away to help make our business better.”

During this time, Ito also began exploring his creative side, taking photography and design classes alongside his business coursework. After switching his major from business management to marketing, he began designing promotional materials and experimenting with email marketing to attract new customers to his parents’ business. The combination of his marketing education and creative pursuits also laid the groundwork for the creative approach he would later bring to his own ventures.

“Marketing is more than just sales or advertising,” said Ito. “At its core, it’s about how you communicate and connect with your customers. When you make a genuine connection with your customers, you’re better positioned to understand their needs, build lasting relationships, and create a successful business.”

After graduating from Rutgers–Camden in 2012, Ito devoted himself to his family’s restaurant, continuing to draw on his business education to help stabilize and strengthen the operation while deepening his experience behind the sushi bar. At the same time, he began laying the groundwork for his own Philadelphia restaurant, navigating the financial challenges and planning involved in bringing his vision to life. By 2016, that vision became Royal Sushi & Izakaya.

The venture brought together everything he had learned about business, hospitality, and creativity – but the restaurant was about far more than the food. The menu, music, design, lighting, branding, and every customer interaction were all part of the experience. At the same time, he understood that sustaining that creative vision required sound business fundamentals. This approach allowed him to build an enterprise that was both financially viable and distinctly his own.

“Every single touch point with a customer is a creative opportunity for me,” Ito said. “I can remember a professor at Rutgers once said that it is better to be everything to someone than something to everyone, and that stuck with me. I continue to do omakase each evening because I can be face-to-face with my customers and stay aligned with their interests and think about how I can offer something distinctive and interesting.”

That commitment to creating something distinctive ultimately earned Ito one of the culinary world’s highest honors: a James Beard Award. While he is deeply proud of the recognition, he views it as a reflection of the people who helped him get there, particularly his parents and the team behind his restaurants. For Ito, however, the achievement that carries the greatest meaning is being able to provide financial security for his family and help his parents retire comfortably. 

Looking ahead, he remains focused on growth and continuing to innovate and bring creativity to Philadelphia’s ever-evolving dining scene.

“There’s a Japanese principle called kaizen, meaning continuous, incremental improvement,” said Ito. “That’s my focus. I’m always looking for ways to make my restaurants better and to make myself better. There are always new ways to approach the food, refine our systems, and improve how we operate. Even after 10 years, that process of learning and growing is what keeps me excited.”