In one of his first interviews in Hays, Michael Huskey was asked what he wanted to get out of working at a fast food restaurant. In his early twenties, just looking to make some extra money,

“For whatever reason I told him that I wanted to open a restaurant some day.”

In a smug, ‘yeah right’ kind of tone, Huskey was told “good luck”.

Little did either of them know, that years later he would do exactly that. But it wasn’t without struggle-years of honing in on his craft, agonizing hours on the sushi line, Huskey was able to build his dream restaurant from the ground up.

As a child, Huskey grew up watching Food Network in St. Louis, Missouri. Racing home from school, he would flip through the channels, eager to watch seasoned chefs create beautiful culinary displays. From there, his career as a cook began.

“We didn’t have much, so man, if it was macaroni and hot dogs I was making the best of that in my little chefs hat and jacket,” Huskey said.

In his teenage years, he began working in fast food restaurants, flipping burgers. He knew that this wasn’t his destiny, but he never felt unhappy in the kitchen. At home, he would create fancy dishes for his cousin who ended up being his number one fan, gushing over how amazing his creations were.

Even if he didn’t quite believe in himself, he clearly had a gift that was already being recognized.

After moving to the Ozarks with his dad, Huskey began washing dishes at Papa Meaux’s, a Cajun restaurant that he described as “as Creole as it gets’ ‘.

Learning the art of garnishing and seasoning, Huskey continued to workshop his skills from various mentors throughout the years. While Cajun was his first love in food, a trip to Kansas City would introduce him to the art of sushi.

“My first experience was at this very traditional restaurant and I remember feeling out of place because it was just foreign to me.”

Ordering his first roll, it was love at first bite. “I swear to God I fell in love with this so fast, I ate more than I probably needed to,” he added.

“For some weird reason, I found this immediate, weird passion for it.”

Heading back to Hays where he had then settled down, he began working on his craft. He would find books on sushi and exotic cuisine and study. After almost a year of trial and error, Huskey shared that he made his first solid roll and felt confident saying “I could sell this’ ‘.

Oftentimes, his ex-wife and family would join him for sushi parties. His sister-in-law at the time would crack jokes about opening a restaurant, yelling out “Sake-to-me!”.

“I thought, that’s what the name is gonna be – because it sounds ridiculous, I was so afraid that people wouldn’t take me serious opening a sushi restaurant here, so I figured that if I was going to fail at least I played on that silly name,” Huskey added.

While working with Culligan here in Hays, Huskey continued his craft and began catering events in town. As he got better, business became crazy. Working out of his kitchen, he became worried that he might get in trouble with how quickly he was gaining attention. He decided it was time to find a location.

Nearing his thirties, Huskey was approached by a loan officer who shared that they loved what he was doing and would like to support his venture. With his hopes high and dreams within reach, nothing could have prepared him for the incoming call he was about to receive.

“They practically laughed me out the door, it was one of the harshest phone calls I’ve ever had,” Huskey said. “It was almost like he was offended that I would even ask for a loan, and I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t even say anything back.”

Devastated, Huskey returned home from work that day. Not long after, the Bank of Hays became the answer to his prayers. After working up the courage to potentially be shot down again, he met with loan officers.

And from there the ball was rolling.

Securing the loan he needed, Sake2Me was open for business. In their first location off of Main Street, the first year saw lines out the door and down the street. His Facebook page was blowing up with angry customersnot concerned with the quality of food, but the inability to get a seat.

There just wasn’t enough manpower.

“That’s the problem with opening a restaurant, even when you’re smoking hot busy with lines out the door, we couldn’t turn tables fast enough to make a profit,” Huskey said. “To everybody else we look like were getting rich but I was making no money, so I think all my problems are over but really they’re just starting.”

In one experience, as Huskey worked the sushi line, an employee came to tell him one of their customers was fuming, beyond angry at the wait he was forced to endure. After receiving his food, he was persistent in his need to talk with the owner.

“I just need a minute, can I get a minute?” Huskey remembers saying to his staff. As the patron approached the bar, Huskey extended his sincerest apology, sharing he was doing everything he could.

Interjecting, the guest shared that he was coming to apologize. While he was angry about the wait, he expressed his gratitude for the meal, stating he would wait in a line for five hours if it meant being served a meal of such high quality.

“I’ll tell you, I felt like hugging this complete stranger because I was on the verge of crying so many times, I was just tired” Huskey shared.

Quickly realizing that he simply couldn’t do it all on his own, sushi chef Cesar Vargas entered the picture. With enormous pride in his craft, Huskey gave Vargas a shot. Placing five sheets of Nori in front of the newcomer, if Vargas could create a roll to his approval in five tries, he had the job.

Vargas did it in two.

With his new right hand man, Huskey and Vargas began training chefs, turning tables with new wait staff and reaching more customers. In 2016, he was awarded Best Emerging Business by the State of Kansas after his three year evaluation with the Small Business Development Center.

After moving out of their building on Main, Sake2Me found its new home off of Vine Street. But this still was not the dream, however, a phone call with Adam Pray with Platinum Group would change all of that.

Nearing the end of a three year contract, Huskey shared the difficulties the business was facing with Pray. The idea of closing Sake2Me was even tossed out.

“He said to me, we can’t let you close, so I have a solution. He asked me what my dream building would be,” Huskey shared. From the start, he had his eyes set on the old bike shop as their permanent location, but no matter what they couldn’t get pen to paper to make it official.

“You’re in luck, that is going up for auction. Do you want me to bid on it?”

Pray had proposed a new contract in Huskey’s dream location. The plan was for both to contribute to the building costs, while Huskey would pay rent to Pray. As the auction approached, Pray implored Mike to keep his phone at his side, ready for the incoming call.

That day, Huskey was out at a charity event, riding with his motorcycle buddies. As the call came in, his heart was racing, he was sweating and one of his friends nudged him, “I think you should answer that”.

On the other end of the line was Pray who stated, “Mike – we got the building”.

“If it wasn’t for the Bank of Hays, we would never have started and if it wasn’t for Pray and the Platinum Group, we wouldn’t be here,” Huskey said. “This is my dream building, we’re essentially sitting in what I always thought this would be.”

Having made their impact on the community of Hays, Huskey was able to bring his unique, Americanized style-sushi to an unexpected market.

“I’ve made it very clear that we are not traditional sushi and the last thing I want to do is take anything away from traditional sushi – but we still take it very serious,” he said.

Throughout the Sake2Me menu, bizarre combinations of steak, french fries and the occasional dill pickle pique the interest of people who swear against sushi. Huskey was always surprised when people said they hated sushi, so he took the time to think through every single roll.

Alongside the daring flavor pairings, the presentation of each roll is immaculately designed. Their signature Spiderman roll comes served on a sriracha web, piled high with shredded crab and an array of house sauces.

“It’s gotta look pretty, it’s gotta taste good, the flavors have to make sense – there is no ands, ifs, buts, none of it. If the customer isn’t taking photos of their meak, you’re just not doing your job right,” Huskey shared of his staff expectations.

Along with the chef’s under his employ, his wait staff are also held to high standards.

“People are leaving the comfort of their homes to come have our food, spend the money they’ve worked hard to earn on something they see value in,” Huskey said. “I don’t come from a life where people saw value in me, so now at this age, people come here and see value in me and I want to give them that unmatched service and experience.”

From watching Food Network, to creating his own unique food experience in Hays, Huskey entered one of the toughest businesses and came out successful. In the end, it has always been about providing people with his passion.