Local restaurateurs Ryan and Wade McElroy are bringing a new sushi bar to Hyde Park. Kōbō will move into the former Uncle Nicky’s space at 4222 Duval St., with former Soto head chef Moto Seto as executive chef and partner.

The brothers are behind many familiar Austin projects, both past and current. Ryan is a co-owner of Bird Bird Biscuit, while Wade’s recent local projects include Rocco's Neighborhood Joint and Kinsho, the sushi restaurant and cocktail bar that opened on Rainey Street earlier this year. Both are co-owners of Love Supreme. The McElroys also grew up in Austin.

Kōbō takes over the original location of Uncle Nicky’s, which closed in April. Before that, the space housed longtime gelato shop Dolce Vita, where the McElroys remember stopping as kids.

“We’d been wanting to work with Moto for a while and wanted to do something that both honored and fit the unique space,” Wade McElroy said in the restaurant announcement. “Beyond that, we wanted to jive with the neighborhood. Hyde Park is incredible and has great options whether it’s Italian, Mexican, pizza or pastries, but there’s no great sushi in the neighborhood so we felt that Kōbō would be a natural fit.”

Seto spent nearly eight years with Soto, where he served as head chef and helped open the Austin and Houston locations. A native of Nagoya, Japan, he began working in restaurants at 18 and has spent much of his career behind sushi counters.

After returning to Austin earlier this year, Seto met Wade McElroy and began discussing ways to work together. Kōbō will give the chef a smaller, more personal setting for the kind of food he has been developing throughout his career.

Chef Moto Seto will serve as executive chef and partner at Kōbō, a new Hyde Park sushi bar opening in the former Uncle Nicky’s space.Photo by Matt Stuber

The menu will center on nigiri and sashimi using fish sourced from Tokyo’s Toyosu Market. Seto will finish the fish with yakumi, or toppings and condiments, and offer maki rolls, temaki hand rolls, and a selection of small kitchen dishes.

The goal is not a formal omakase-only destination. The team describes Kōbō as a restaurant suited for a quick dinner, date night, or special occasion. Its beverage program will focus on sake and natural wine.

“I draw inspiration from flavors and techniques from all over, but I always want to keep the fish and simplicity at the center of the dish,” Seto said. “I studied architecture before I became a chef, and I think that still influences the way I approach sushi — each dish is almost like designing a work of art.”

The name Kōbō means “workshop” in Japanese, reflecting the team’s idea of a place where the work is continually being refined.

For Ryan and Wade McElroy, the location carries its own history. Hyde Park was part of their childhood Austin, from gelato runs at Dolce Vita to birthday meals at Asti.

“Wade and I grew up in Austin and have been coming to the Hyde Park neighborhood since the ’90s, getting gelato at Dolce Vita, or celebrating birthdays at Asti,” Ryan McElroy said. “When the opportunity came along to take over from Uncle Nicky’s, we jumped at it.”

Kōbō has not announced an opening date or hours. Updates will be posted at sushikobo.com and @SushiKoboATX.