Geeveston sushi chef Masaaki Koyama has put his new restaurant on ice

A renowned regional sushi chef has put the brakes on his new restaurant as his takeaway business booms thanks to more Tasmanians holidaying at home.

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GEEVESTON sushi chef Masaaki Koyama has put the brakes on a new restaurant, as his takeaway business booms thanks to increased intrastate travel.

Mr Koyama is back up and running from his food van outside the former St Peters Anglican Church in Geeveston.

Operating Friday to Sunday he is selling out almost every day.

Partner Lucy Whitehead said the business was receiving fantastic support from Tasmanians.

Sushi Chef Masaaki Koyama of Masaaki's Sushi at Geeveston. Picture Chris Kidd

“Locals are getting more of a look-in because there aren’t any international visitors,” she said.

“A lot more people are getting out and about because they are appreciating that they can. It’s really nice to see people from different parts of Tasmania coming down to the Huon Valley to see what’s around.”

Mr Koyama said business dried up almost completely during the height of coronavirus restrictions, forcing him to quickly adapt to a delivery-only model.

“We were shocked in the first few weeks there was actually no business in Geeveston so we started a delivery service to Hobart customers. The first couple of days we just used Facebook and we were taking hundreds of orders in a day,” he said.

(L-R) Brihana Olive, Lucy Whitehead, Sushi Chef Masaaki Koyama and Emmalee Jones of Masaaki's Sushi at Geeveston. Picture Chris Kidd

Over the past couple of years Mr Koyama has been working hard renovating the former St Peters Anglican Church to create his new restaurant.

The commercial kitchen opened in March, however the grand opening of the new dining space is hold for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus.

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