Where do you go for sushi so fresh it moves?

A new location of Sushi Choochoo will soon be opening in Humble, offering conveyor belt sushi, and you can bet Carl Rosa of the Sushi Club of Houston will be one of the first people in the door.

Rosa, a Humble resident, started the club less than four years ago with 50 members. Now it has 1,200 members, and is a force to be reckoned with if you’re one of the approximately 75 sushi restaurants in the Houston area. Rosa organizes sushi-tastings and also leads tours to Japan a few times a year. He became executive director of the Japan American Society of Houston after the club took off.

“Ironically, I got this job because of the Sushi Club, not the other way around,” he says.

“The club doesn’t make any money. The club’s only job is to educate people about sushi and Japan. When I started the club three and a half years ago with 50 members I never expected this.”

Rosa says the club’s success has proved frustrating for the members who aren’t able to sign up for events because they are so quickly sold out. “There are a lot of restaurants that can’t wait for us to call because we so easily fill the restaurant to the brim.”

The numbers allow Rosa to negotiate good prices for the sushi. The club’s Web site is www.houston-sushi.com. Look for that new location of Sushi Choochoo near the Wal-mart on FM 1960 in Humble to open at the end of January, a restaurant employee says.