Along with Aubie, almost any student you ask at Auburn University can answer to who the “sushi guy” is. The master of edible art has been on campus for nearly 10 years after opening Olo Sushi in 2007.
But beyond his well-known fried Tiger Tails and build-your-own sushi rolls, Chris Lin is a man with a dream.
“I worked in Los Angeles for a while hoping to start my own business,” Lin said. “I got into sushi because it’s like art. You can create whatever you feel like.”
Lin has traveled all over the world living in many regions, each for only a short period of time. Originally from Myanmar, Lin went to school in Singapore for graphic design.
“I had no clue what I wanted to do in school,” Lin said. “But I was spending all of my tuition and not going to make enough money with graphic design.”
He then moved to Australia for a year before coming to the U.S. and working as a waiter in Tampa, Florida. There he learned how to make sushi.
“I didn’t know how to make sushi at all before that,” Lin said. “But then I moved around for about two years learning how to make different kinds.”
Lin has lived in seven different countries including Thailand and Malaysia. He said when he moved to California hoping to start his own business he quickly found that was a much easier feat in the South.
“I love Auburn,” Lin said. “When you live on the West Coast and you smile at people, they ask why you are smiling, but here people smile back.”
Olo Sushi has multiple locations: Foy, Village Dining, Terrell, Lowder and Outtakes, as well as the pop-up stand on Mondays and Wednesdays that sells fried Tiger Tail sushi.
Samuel Holt, marketing manager for Tiger Dining, said he believes Lin’s personality plays a large part in his success.
“He’s a good man,” Holt said. “He’s passionate and driven about what he does and really connects with the students.”
Lin is a busy man. The pop-up cart alone serves about 300 people a day. He also prepares 500 boxes of ready-made sushi each day to place in the different stores across campus.
“I want to grow,” Lin said. “I want to own my own franchise. Whatever tastes good, looks good, that’s what I plan on. Hopefully, I can expand by August.”
Lin is currently in the process of opening a Thai ice cream parlor on campus in Village Dining.
“I think right now it’s mostly just an equipment problem because Thai ice cream is difficult to make,” Holt said. “So I’m not sure when that’s going to be working, but once it is, I’ll help him get the word out.”
Along with the campus stores, Lin operates Olo stores on Columbus State University’s campus, as well as one at Auburn University at Montgomery.
However, owning and operating a business still requires him to get his hands dirty occasionally. Lin can often be found washing dishes, making sushi or anything else they need.
“I started as a poor, little place in Birmingham and now I’ve grown,” Lin said. “I chose Auburn because Auburn is a fun place.”
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