So let me get this straight;

You have never run a restaurant before,
You've never run a sushi restaurant before
You want to open a sushi restaurant, in a busy italian city, one that is especially noted for it's style and taste, presumably on a 'high-street outlet' basis,
And you've come onto the internet for serious business advice?!

Lady, you are in trouble before you even begin! H

Have you got somewhere to open your restaurant? How are you going to find a qualified chef? Have you eaten sushi before? Are you familiar enough with quality sushi to know if your chefs are any good? Have you been to Japan and tried sushi there? How about market research; is there a big enough niche or a big enough demand in Japan to justify opening a japanese restaurant there?

I think the first critical issue you should address is getting some experience managing a restaurant and THEN experience with the art of sushi.

Your are highly likely to los e your shirt. I spend 2 years as a restaurant kitchen inspector and about 3 as an assistant buyer for a restaurant, along with having managed or co-managed businesses in other fields. The restaurant business is proabably the worst one to ever venture into without a very solid knowledge of at least the back of the house! Do not do this!

The Executive Chef runs the kitchen, but trust me, YOU have to run the EC. Even if they are honest enough not to steal you blind, they can not do it all.

And when you factor in a very precise cuisine using the most perishable ingredient on the planet you are headng for disaster.

I hate to discourage anyone's initative and inspiration when it comes to a business, but I don't want to encourage something that could ruin your life and any future hopes in the restaurant industry. Trust me when I say that if you open this type of restauarant and fail, the failure will follow you forever.

Another, safer option came to mind. If you already have the financing to open a restaurant, why not become an investor in a someone else's sushi restaurant, rather than owning one? It alleviates most of your risk, other than monetary and give you a way to learn more about the industry, as well as sushi restaurant operations.

If you don't have the financing already, I cannot imagine a lender providing it for such a venture when you have no background in it. Financing for restaurants is not easy for anyone, because of an inherently high failure rate.

quantities of fish is probably question 350 on the list of questions you need to answer before going ahead with this.

Do you have a business plan? Who is your market? Is there an unmet demand? What is the competition? What makes your restaurant different or unique? Whay am I going to your restaurant rather than the competition's? Who is going to make the sushi?

I think it is certainly possible and if there is an unmet demand where you live and you have the access to a sushi chef and fresh fish (tuna, yellowtail, salmon, etc) then it is certainly worth a shot.

I appreciate your reply. You would agree though that success is sometimes achieved by those who try (after attent research of course)...I have set up a successful fashion firm in only 2 years after working in banking for 12 years and i didnt have any experience in fashion. I am here to get advice and thank god I am getting it from very nice and experienced people. But I also appreciate your comments, even if they are given looking down on me, as they make me stronger. Thanks anyway.
ps: im not a lady, im a guy and I had the luck of eating the best sushi in Tokyo around the world. A

Thanks anyone for your replies! All of them so usefull.

In terms of how to make a business plan and all the variables to consider when running the business (competition, location, price movements) I can say Im quite solid. What I need is infos about machinery, everything you might know about fish, how to keep it, where to find the best even if Brindisi is on the sea, whether websites like Sushi Fornitori are good sites where to buy ingredients etc. Thanks again everyone. A

Oh gosh, sorry! I forgot Andrea is also a man's name in Italy. We're not really looking down on you; it takes guts to be an entrepreneur, but it is a little worrying that you came here of all places to ask for business advice. It makes people wonder if you're really serious and have thought properly about what you are doing. A lot of restaurants fail, even very well prepared ones so it's an incredibly risky business.

Edit: Oops, you posted again. The trouble with Japanese cuisine is that you're going to need to import a lot of items if you want it to be authentic. Try and find an asian supermarket, or contact brands directly (if you can) to see if you can buy/import directly in bulk. That would probably be cheaper than buying it through a website.

What's your idea for the restaurant, because i've seen a lot of different things calling themselves 'sushi restaurants' and some vary from little more than a sandwich shop-bar and others are very elite.

I am no sushi expert, however I will try to give you information I have learned just from reading. First of all, you of course need chefs who were trained to specialize in sushi. I assume you already know this but I am just making sure! =) Secondly, you need to have a fresh source for your fish. If possible, you should get a location that is near a fish market. The quantity of fish depends on how big the establishment will be.

I suggest reading the book "The Story of Sushi" (formerly titled The Zen of Fish) by Trevor Corson. It is very indepth about the ingredients, how they are made, where they are from, how the sushi is prepared, and there are a few chapters on sushi restaurants and and how sushi started in the U.S.

Don't limit yourself to resources when it comes to sushi. You can find a ton of articles and websites about sushi. This may not be the best place to get your information.

Like I said, I am not expert, but I certainly love sushi! =) I hope your business prospers!

What are you talking about? I plan to make Ramen and will learn the basics of cooking it there. I need to put my money into something for the future. I can't do comedy forever, my hips can't take it.:D

My first suggestion would be to learn how to properly make sushi. To become a sushi chef takes 8-10+ years.