Conveyor-belt dim sum restaurant coming to Brighton

You're probably familiar with conveyor-belt sushi restaurants. They originated in Japan decades ago, and there was a lot of interest around the Rochester area getting its first, Umai Revolving Sushi , in late 2022.

Now meet another Rochester first: conveyor-belt dim sum.

Traditionally, the Chinese specialty is served using a rolling, steam-heated cart.

But it's getting an update from Rochester restaurateur Peter Sun, a native of the Fujian Province of China who came here in 1989 and has launched other novel dining concepts.

At his Spin & Savor , which begins its soft-opening phase Tuesday, Oct. 8, dim sum dumplings and buns with savory and sweet fillings, along with sushi and other Asian dishes, will make their way to customers via a double-decker conveyor belt system winding around the 1,800-square-foot dining room.

The restaurant is at 2775 Monroe Ave., Brighton, in the spot formerly occupied by Sun’s upscale Red Sun Chinese Cuisine and in the same building as his Japanese-inspired Sakura Home, which opened in 2008.

Spin & Savor’s upper-track conveyor belt will send hot steamer baskets of dim sum (and other hot dishes) from the kitchen to guests after they place orders on iPads at their tables.

The lower track, filled with plates of food that can remain at room temperature for a limited period of time (including sushi), will rotate continuously, and diners can grab whatever dishes look good to them.

“We will make sure everything is not going to be out for more than one hour, so everything will be very fresh,” Sun said through an interpreter, Fan Zhang.

Prices per plate range from around $5 to $10. “When you go to dinner, you normally spend $20 for one dish. And here, for $20 dollars, you can have at least three dishes,” Sun said.

Soft-opening hours will be 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, he said.

Depending on customer feedback, “We might open earlier on the weekends because with dim sum, people normally come in earlier then.” Spin & Savor also could stay open later than 9 on weekends, based on customer demand.

The restaurant — which has been renovated but retains some of the chic Red Sun décor and is filled with Chinese art and antiques — has a full bar, and drinks will be delivered by robot.

Sun, of course, is familiar with Umai Revolving Sushi, which also uses a double-decker conveyor belt system and a robot and is just a few doors down at 2833 Monroe.

“The biggest difference is the dim sum,” he said, which is being prepared by Gangfeng Guo, a master dim sum chef Sun recruited from New York City.

A small dining area across the hallway from the automated one is available for private events and for customers who prefer traditional service.

Fan pointed out that the restaurant does have a rolling, steam-heated dim sum cart for that purpose and to use as a backup when things get busy.

The entrance to Spin & Savor is on the west side of the building across from Chipotle.

Sun’s other businesses include two Mochinut locations. He opened the area’s first in January 2023 in Henrietta and another later that year in Irondequoit.

In the same Henrietta building at 544 Jefferson Road, he operates Mongolian BBQ. And the Irondequoit building at 850 East Ridge Road also is home to Mongolian BBQ and Nashville Spicy Chicken.

Sun worked for the better part of a year developing Spin & Savor. He said he does not know of another conveyor-belt dim sum restaurant in the country, and we couldn't find evidence of one. However, we were able to locate a few in Singapore.

Now 69, Sun joked that he’s at retirement age. “This dim sum thing really challenged him,” Zhang said.

Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @MarciaGreenwood .

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Conveyor-belt dim sum restaurant coming to Brighton