The Mall at University Town Center's YO! Sushi introduces Blue Mondays

If you've got a case of the Mondays, Yo! Sushi has a deal for you.

Blue Mondays are one of the first specials offered by YO! Sushi in The Mall at University Town Center. On Blue Mondays, each blue plate at YO! Sushi is $3.50.

Regularly at YO! Sushi, prices are determined by plate colors. Green plates are $3, blue plates are $3.50, pink plates are $5 and so on. A select 40 dishes are offered for $3.50 each on the Blue Mondays menu.

The UTC YO! Sushi chef also has some discretion and can offer some additional dishes for $3.50. This week, for example, the restaurant offered the shrimp tempura and avocado roll.

Assistant general manager Diego Malatesta said the company determined which 40 dishes to offer based on price and popularity. For example, none of the $7 or $8 plates are on the Blue Mondays menu.

And some of the green $3 plates, such as edamame and the vegetable roll, go up to $3.50 for the Blue Mondays menu. Alex Benitez, general manager at UTC's YO! Sushi, said the $3 plates featured on the Blue Mondays menu have larger portions.

YO! Sushi put the promotion together to brighten what is most people's least favorite day of the week, Benitez said.

"Nobody wants to go to work on Monday, so we try to make Monday a little more fun."

Darren Wigtman, vice president of operations for YO! Sushi, said Blue Mondays are just the beginning and the United Kingdom-based company plans to bring more promotions to its U.S. stores. The UTC store opened in April and one in Paramus, New Jersey opened earlier this year.

Happy hour is also on its way soon, Benitez said. Discounts will be offered on select domestic beers, Japanese beers, sake, a Japanese rice wine and traditional grape wine.

The YO! Sushi in the mall at UTC will start offering oishii next week, or YO! Sushi's version of a sandwich. The "buns" are made from rice and contain a variety of vegetables and seasonings as well as choice of chicken, salmon or mushroom.

Mondays are the slowest days of the week for Yo! Sushi's U.S. locations. But since they've started the Blue Mondays promotion, Mondays at YO! Sushi's UTC location are the third busiest day behind Saturday and Sunday.

Janelle O'Dea, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 745-7095. Follow her on Twitter@JayOhday

This story was originally published July 29, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "The Mall at University Town Center's YO! Sushi introduces Blue Mondays ."