Which original Dragon founded the UK's Yo! Sushi restaurant chain?

Simon Woodroffe founded the UK's Yo! Sushi restaurant chain and became an original Dragon on Dragon's Den.

Woodroffe launched Yo! Sushi in London in 1997, introducing a conveyor-belt dining concept inspired by Japanese restaurant traditions. Customers could select dishes as they passed by, making the service visually distinctive and faster than a conventional menu-based restaurant. The business became one of the best-known British restaurant brands associated with sushi.

Woodroffe joined the first group of investors on the UK version of Dragon's Den. His experience was particularly connected with hospitality, branding, and customer experience. He later developed other ventures, including the YOTEL hotel concept.

The name is sometimes written with punctuation as YO! Sushi, while the founder's name is occasionally confused with other Dragons who built careers in retail or property. Woodroffe's role in the show and his restaurant business are separate parts of his entrepreneurial career.