South Side sushi bar evacuated, man hospitalized, after chemical scare

An automated sushi bar in the South Side Works appears to be open after two cleaning chemicals were mixed, potentially exposing more than a dozen people to chlorine gas, Pittsburgh police said.

The man who mixed the chemicals was treated at a hospital. No one else was injured, police said.

It happened just before 1 p.m. Tuesday at Kura Revolving Sushi Bar location at 415 Cinema Drive. Rescue workers evacuated 15 people.

A person who answered the phone at the restaurant declined to comment and other company officials couldn’t immediately be reached.

At Kura, sushi entrees parade by diners on a conveyor belt, customized touch-screen orders and a computer that keeps track of how much people eat and offers rewards based on the number of plates eaten.

It resembles something from “The Jetsons” the 1960s cartoon that offers a vision of the future that has otherwise not yet come to fruition.

Kura Sushi USA has more than 500 locations in the Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. Another Pennsylvania location is in Philadelphia.

The company trades on NASDAQ at KRUS. Shares closed at $65.49 on Tuesday. The company reported $64.9 million in sales for the second quarter of 2025, down about 5% from last year.

Its Pittsburgh location opened in 2023.