After 15 seasons as a Major League Baseball pitcher, Todd Stottlemyre decided to give the finance world a whirl. 

So it wasn’t that much of a surprise when the World Series champion and second-generation professional ballplayer quickly figured out that sitting still at a desk wasn’t quite a fit.

“I woke up one day and realized I don’t feel like spending my life in an office,” Stottlemyre said. 

But what did excite him was an industry that played a key role in his professional life: food. Precisely, healthy food that helped his body and mind perform at the top of their capabilities. 

This sparked Koibito Poke, the healthy fast-casual Hawaiian poke bowl franchise Stottlemyre started in Scottsdale in 2018.

The restaurant operates on what Stottlemyre called a “sea and earth” model, with every ingredient hailing from nature, with zero preservatives and no overprocessing. 

“If you understand what the food is… it comes from the sea, the farm and vegetables,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to give people an option at the quick-serve level to eat the highest nutrients possible that fuel your body.”

What started with a single location in Arizona has grown to 10, with four restaurants in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Gilbert and the rest in Missouri, Nevada and North Carolina. More locations are slated to open soon, including two more in the Valley. 

Koibito’s business has more than doubled since 2022, Stottlemyre said. It’s on pace to more than double this year’s growth in 2024. 

The restaurant was named one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top New and Emerging Franchises of 2023. 

In addition to Koibito’s signature bowls, customers can build their own bowl with a selection of accouterments from rice and greens, to proteins of seafood, chicken and tofu, to sauces, toppings and garnishes.  

Ramsin Gabrail has been a faithful regular at the Gainey Village location for five years. He stops by at least twice a month and often gets his go-to: white rice, Hawaiian tuna, octopus, sesame oil, citrus ponzu on the octopus, a little sweet chili lime and sriracha aioli on everything. He may also toss on jalapenos, cucumber, crab meat and furikake. 

Gabrail has been to many other poke spots, but he said Koibito has spoiled him and he is unable to find anything comparable, even on a trip to Hawaii. He’s taken out-of-town friends to Koibito and when they return home, they also fail to find a poke eatery that offers bowls as tasty and fresh. 

“It’s the quality of the food… this place has become the new standard,” said Gabrail, who lives in Scottsdale. “The staff is always super helpful, and it’s always a pleasure going there.” 

Stottlemyre’s storied professional career spans pitching for five teams, finishing with the Arizona Diamondbacks. After retiring in 2002, Stottlemyre found success with large asset management firms and hedge funds. However, this wasn’t his ideal retirement plan.

Then, Stottlemyre discovered the poke bowl space and was drawn by the healthy food aspect. He liked the idea of providing customers an alternative to typical fast food fare  that they could grab quickly, get satiated and not feel sluggish when they returned to the office or picked up the kids from school. Just like that, Koibito Poke was born. 

Koibito is a true family business, with Stottlemyre’s wife, Erica, assisting with internal operations and marketing, and their daughter Maddy taking on COO duties. 

Koibito is part of a U.S. fast-casual restaurants market that is forecast to increase by $55.4 billion between 2022 and 2027, according to Technavio. 

Hiring young people and providing a space for professional mentorship is part of Stottlemyre’s model. 

“They work extremely hard and don’t just punch the clock,” he said. “To see them grow into tomorrow’s leaders is probably the most fun for me.”

However, the restaurant’s concept has another connection to a very personal part of Stottlemyre’s life.

His father is the late Mel Stottlemyre, a former major league baseball pitcher and coach who spent his impressive 11-year playing career with the New York Yankees. Mel battled multiple myeloma, a plasma cancer, for 20 years before ultimately succumbing to the disease in 2019. 

Stottlemyre started exploring the poke bowl concept as his father was nearing the end of his cancer battle. He did research and believed that if people ate healthier food that was not overprocessed and laden with preservatives, perhaps not as many would be diagnosed with more invasive cancers at younger ages. 

Stottlemyre said his father was a big part of the drive to start the business and make a difference with the power of good food.

“Our dad was our hero, our mentor, our coach, our friend. But nothing inspired me as much as his battle with cancer. Every day he put one foot in front of the other and for 20 years he talked to people who had cancer and inspired them,” Stottlemyre said. “He was making everyone else around him better even though he was in the fight of his life … he’s the greatest warrior I ever met.”

What: Koibito Poke

Where: Scottsdale, Phoenix, Gilbert

Employees: 45

Interesting stat: The U.S. fast-casual restaurant market is forecast to increase by $55.4 billion between 2022 and 2027, according to Technavio. 

Details: koibitopoke.com