Players luv them some Billy Sushi
I do too....
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This North Loop restaurant has become the Vikings’ go-to spot. Here’s how it happened.
From rookie dinners to postgame celebrations, Vikings players have formed a special bond with Billy Sushi owner Billy Tserenbat, whose hospitality keeps them coming back.
Even the longest-tenured player in the Vikings locker room — 15-year veteran safety Harrison Smith — doesn’t know when the tradition started.
“How old is Billy Sushi? I feel like there was probably no one else here when we started going besides me,” Smith said with a laugh. “It was a long time ago.”
Billy Sushi, the popular sushi restaurant tucked in a nondescript brick building on a quieter street of Minneapolis’ North Loop, is a hot spot for Vikings players and staff — from rookie dinners to position group outings to birthdays and more.
No one knows when they started going — the restaurant opened in 2020 — but everyone’s been. Everyone knows owner Enkhbileg “Billy” Tserenbat. Everyone has a favorite dish.
“We be in there all the time,” said wide receiver Jordan Addison.
The love for Billy Sushi spans basically every pro sports team in the city. Look to the restaurant’s Instagram for proof.
But the Vikings have found a special connection with Tserenbat and his staff. Billy Sushi even brought a full bluefin tuna for part of a catered team dinner at TCO Performance Center on Wednesday as the 5-0 team prepared to take on the Indianapolis Colts.
Players still make time to visit Billy Sushi in-person during the season, too. Tserenbat makes sure they always have a seat, whether they’re there for a post-game celebration or something else.
Inside the restaurant, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson’s autographed handprint hangs on the wall among a small group of others. He’s the only local athlete to hold a spot, though former Timberwolves co-owner Marc Lore and NHL star Alex Ovechkin are featured, too.
“Those superstars, they’re all here enjoying the meal,” Tserenbat said. “They choose to be here with their precious time. It’s really nice feelings. Billy Sushi, we are also super fun people, too, so it makes it even [more] fun.”
How Billy Sushi’s hospitality earned the Vikings’ loyalty
Standing shoulder to shoulder inside the locker room, cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. and safety Josh Metellus give their answer near simultaneously.
“The vibes” are what keep them going back to Billy Sushi. Several other players agreed.
Tserenbat’s larger-than-life personality is part of that vibe. Murphy said the first time he dined in-restaurant, meeting Tserenbat was what won him over as a loyal customer.
“Ever since I met him, he’s been showing love,” Murphy said.
Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers describes Tserenbat as a “jolly guy.” Left tackle Christian Darrisaw called his relationship with Tserenbat “just so cool.” Safety Theo Jackson said, “If you need someone to lift you up, it’s Billy.”
As Tserenbat sees it, the hospitality business, and therefore the restaurant business, is about making a person’s day “much better than it was,” regardless of how he or his staff feels.
Rodgers said he appreciates that Vikings players aren’t made to feel “superior” when dining at Billy Sushi. He said he sees the workers treat every customer who walks in the door the same as high-profile clientele, even as Vikings players and Billy Sushi staff have come to know each other better.
“It’s always just love when we get there,” Rodgers said. “It just feels more like home rather than trying to switch it up, go somewhere else and we don’t really know who’s in there, we don’t know the dishes and things like that. We’re just comfortable there.”
That comfort shows in how the players discuss dining at Billy Sushi, and the memories they share there with teammates. Just as Murphy and Metellus spoke together about the restaurant, Addison turned to fellow wide receiver Tai Felton to consult on favorite dishes.
Experiences at Billy Sushi are synonymous with team building. The offensive line did its first position dinner of the season there this year. The defensive backs room and the defense overall have done rookie dinners there — though Smith makes sure rookies don’t have to pick up the tab.
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Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
“Every group you get to spend time with at a good place with good food … it fosters a better working environment and team and all that,” Smith said.
Tserenbat, who grew up in Mongolia and became an honorary consul of Mongolia to the state of Minnesota earlier this year, knows the importance of a strong community and finding a home away from home. He takes pride in bringing some of that to Vikings players through his and his team’s service.
“We are replacing their mommas,” Tserenbat said, adding separately later, “It’s earning their trust. Once they trust, it’s just coming back to the home.”
It’s hard to go wrong at Billy Sushi — at least 10 separate dishes are named as favorites by players. But pro athletes often have strict nutritional guidelines, particularly in-season. A traditional sushi roll doesn’t always fit in those parameters, but Tserenbat and his staff have learned to fit the players’ dietary needs.
“Their nutritionist doesn’t need to be scared,” Tserenbat said.
Additionally, some players, such as Rodgers, don’t enjoy sushi.
Tserenbat said he doesn’t try to change those players’ minds, but it often happens naturally by trying food a teammate orders. Darrisaw recalled taking recommendations from former teammate Walter Rouse over the years.
Addison prefers a fish-less roll, and on one of his first visits, he asked Tserenbat about making him one similar to a favorite he had in California with avocado and cucumber.
“Plain Jane,” Addison described it. But he loves the Billy Sushi appetizers: Shishito peppers, miso soup, udon noodles.
Christian Darrisaw’s special bond with Billy Sushi’s owner
When Darrisaw came to Minnesota as a rookie first-round pick in 2021, he didn’t like sushi. He had problems with the texture.
As he started a new chapter of life, though, Darrisaw wanted to expand his palate. He took recommendations.
“They said he had the best sushi in town, and he does have the best sushi in town,” Darrisaw said.
Now, Darrisaw said if he’s going out to eat, Billy Sushi is the only place he’s going. He did his birthday dinner there in 2024.
Tserenbat is clear that his love for all Twin Cities athletes runs deep. He said he won’t play fantasy football because his admiration for the Vikings and his favorite players is too strong.
He and Darrisaw have formed a somewhat special relationship, though, as Darrisaw’s gone the extra mile to pay back Tserenbat’s hospitality.
“He is so nice. Super gentle, right? Sometimes when I look at him, it’s like, ‘Oh,’” Tserenbat said, adding an expletive for emphasis and using his mannerisms to reflect Darrisaw’s 6-foot-5, 315-pound stature.
Back in 2022, Darrisaw hooked Tserenbat up with tickets and field passes to a late-December game at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Video from the outing showed Tserenbat’s larger-than-life personality as he interacted with various Vikings fans and figures — including Justin Jefferson’s personal stylist, Darnell Booker — in a custom Billy Sushi No. 88 jersey.
Darrisaw has continued to provide that access to Tserenbat, like Tserenbat makes sure Vikings players always have a seat at Billy Sushi. Tserenbat doesn’t ask often.
“It’s just the respect that he showed to me and just our relationship,” Darrisaw said. “It’s easy. For a guy like that, it’s easy to do for him.”
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
I've gutted too many fish to stomach eating raw ones, but it is amazing how sushi has taken over the world. 20 years ago, there were maybe 2 or 3 sushi places in Denver. Now there are several hundred. And my daughter is NUTS about sushi. We just had it Thursday night to celebrate one of her achievements. I'll have the soup, thanks.
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MaroonBells wrote:
I've gutted too many fish to stomach eating raw ones, but it is amazing how sushi has taken over the world. 20 years ago, there were maybe 2 or 3 sushi places in Denver. Now there are several hundred. And my daughter is NUTS about sushi. We just had it Thursday night to celebrate one of her achievements. I'll have the soup, thanks.
I can do some good ole Norwegian/Pickled Herring, but thats about it...
Newest craze here are those Korean bbq restaurants where you make your own soup or cook your main meal items in a wok like table top.
I figure its a good lawsuit waiting to happen as they serve booze at these places too.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
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