“The word ‘hibachi’ is really a made-up Americanized word,” says Sean Green, co-owner of the new Sozo Japanese Grill in Briarwood. “The original [name] is teppanyaki, teppan meaning ‘flattop’ and yaki meaning ‘cuisine.'” Though he and partner Sky Chen use the American term, Sozo–the Japanese word for “creation”–is something new. While Chen’s three Ichiban restaurants feature theatrical table-side grillwork, Sozo adapts the cuisine to the “fast casual” model: you place your order at the counter, and a server brings it to your table. Online ordering can speed things up even further.

“We wanted to make hibachi … like your everyday food,” says Green, who’s worked in hotels in China and Mongolia, including “many” with Japanese restaurants. He says that he and Chen worked together for over a year developing the menu, which offers combos of traditional hibachi-grilled meats, rice, and vegetables, along with some fusion items like the Sozo Nacho (crab and cream cheese dip over tortilla chips) and Island Salad (with salmon, pineapple, and Parmesan cheese). A regular “steak hibachi” meal is $8.99, and Green emphasizes that price, along with online ordering and carryout, is one of the things setting Sozo apart from most American hibachi places.

“We really get familiarized with [hibachi] through the knife-flying fun type of hibachi chefs,” he says. “However, the original teppanyaki is much more focused on the preparation of the cuisine than tricks.” He says he and Chen hired a “task force” of fully trained hibachi chefs to help develop the menu and train their staff, but for Green the focus is on the food more than the experience.

Green says he and Chen chose Briarwood to stress-test their concept. “To really get the true feedback of whether this is an acceptable product, you have to go to either the most populated or the most trafficked commercial properties,” he says. They briefly considered downtown but couldn’t find a viable and affordable spot.

They’re still working on the profitability side, but “the concentration right now is not necessarily [on] this one store,” Green says. “Right now, it’s still allocating resources to enhance the brand.” If the brand sails, they’re already thinking about additional locations.

Sozo Japanese Grill (Briarwood), 213-6019. Mon.-Sat. 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Sun. 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. sozogrill.com