Albuquerque poke restaurant rebrands as Sushi Freak

Alaina Mencinger, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·1 min read

Aug. 21—Poke restaurant Pokelulu, located at 5901-H Wyoming NE, is rebranding under the Sushi Freak franchise.

Pokelulu was opened in Albuquerque in July 2021 by Jenifer Duarte and Amanda Lopez as a spin-off of make-your-own sushi roll chain Sushi Freak. Duarte and her partner, Michael Broder, founded Sushi Freak in San Diego in 2010. Duarte describes the restaurant as "Subway for sushi," but with a focus on fresh, high quality ingredients.

Broder is from Honolulu, Hawaii, and the original concept for Pokelulu included traditional Hawaiian ingredients in their poke bowls, like purple rice.

The purple rice has been replaced with white under the rebrand. Duarte says that while some customers were disappointed by the change, the majority embraced the rebrand.

"It's great for customers to see the change," Duarte said. "It's for the better."

With the rebrand, Sushi Freak now has three Albuquerque locations. Soon, Sushi Freak will be adding its second franchise in Las Cruces.

"Our fans are coming out of the woodworks," Duarte said. "... We're covering the Albuquerque area."