Osaka surveyed the sushi conveyor belt snaking through his newest restaurant last week. The sleek, silver train wasn’t yet moving colorful plates of sushi and nigiri to patrons, and through the windows, sparse foot traffic on East Colfax Avenue passed in front of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center on North Wheeling Street.

Local City of Aurora officials says Osaka’s decision to open his next Sushi-Rama location — a trendy local chain centered on conveyor-belt-delivered sushi — could be a driver of local economic growth when it opens later this month.

Sushi-Rama is perhaps best known as a staple restaurant centrally located in Denver’s hip River North neighborhood, but Osaka has opened satellites tucked into other suburban corners of the Denver metro.