IOU Sushi III, the all-you-can-eat restaurant that spent close to a decade feeding Tucson diners near Oracle Road and Limberlost Drive, has closed. The restaurant at 4280 N. Oracle Road Suite 180 is now listed as permanently closed, ending a run that began in early 2017.
The owners broke the news in a Facebook post on Sept. 29, according to Tucson Foodie, which did not share a reason for the shutdown. “This is the hardest post I've had to write,” the owners said, thanking customers for about 10 years of support and adding that they had met great friends who became family along the way.
A Decade on North Oracle Road
The restaurant first opened at the end of January 2017 as IOU Sushi IV, tucked into a shopping center near Oracle Road and Limberlost Drive. Over time, the name changed to IOU Sushi III, the same report notes. Tucson Foodie said it first visited the restaurant back in 2017, not long after it opened.
Ownership ties stretched all the way to Idaho. Rocky Holden of Boise owned the Tucson location as the fourth IOU Sushi restaurant, while his cousin, Gerner Poll, ran the day-to-day operations in Tucson, per the same account. An earlier Tucson.com report from 2017, however, identified the Boise-based relative differently, naming him Rocketchun Holden and stating he had opened three IOU Sushi restaurants in Boise — a discrepancy that remains unresolved between the two accounts.
On the menu, diners could pick from roughly two dozen nigiri options alongside specialty rolls built with what the restaurant's own branding called an island twist. Standouts included a tempura upside-down shrimp nigiri topped with sriracha and house sweet sauce, and the eight-piece IOU Roll packed with cream cheese, salmon and jalapeños. At the time of Tucson Foodie's review, all-you-can-eat sushi ran $18.99 at lunch and $25.99 at dinner, with no time limit imposed on diners.
Competing All-You-Can-Eat Spots Keep Multiplying
Tucson still has several all-you-can-eat sushi options for diners who are looking elsewhere, including Tokyo Sushi and Kintaro, both located on East Speedway Boulevard. Kintaro, at 5975 E. Speedway, opened as Tucson's newest all-you-can-eat sushi, sashimi and hibachi spot, according to Tucson.com. Its lunch service runs $21.99 per adult, with reduced pricing of $13.99 for kids ages 7-10 and $8.99 for kids ages 3-6, while dinner runs $31.99 for adults, $17.99 for kids 7-10 and $12.99 for kids 3-6.
Tokyo Sushi, which opened Aug. 8, charges $27 for lunch and $37 for dinner, Tucson.com reported separately. That same report noted Kirin Asian Bistro & Sushi opened in July inside a 5,300-square-foot space in Marana, serving sushi, sashimi, specialty rolls and other pan-Asian dishes.
Part of a Broader Wave of Closures
IOU Sushi III's exit adds to a string of long-running Tucson businesses that have shut down this year. Takamatsu permanently closed after more than 30 years at 5532 E. Speedway Boulevard, while Dolce Vita closed after 47 years in business following the passing of owner Harry Katerelos, according to Real Estate Daily News. Miller's Surplus also closed permanently after 75 years, citing financial reasons.
That outlet described Tucson's retail, restaurant, healthcare and service sectors as continuing to show steady movement through the spring, with openings, relocations, expansions and closures all happening at once. The report attributed the pressure on independent operators to rising costs, changing consumer habits and ownership transitions — a backdrop that frames IOU Sushi III's quiet departure after a decade of serving the north side.
