Spider Sushi Bar elevates its drink options with new twist on Mexican-Asian fusion in Rockford

October 16, 2025|By Kevin Haas|In Business, Restaurants, Featured, Eat & Drink, 815 News, Rock River Current, Rockford, Trending

The Rubi family — Anahi, Miguel, Camelia and Azul — own Spider Sushi Bar on Perryville Road in Rockford. They’re pictured on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at the restaurant. Not pictured is Miguel Rubi Jr., who runs the Spider Sushi location in Tulum, Mexico. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Even after 17 years in business, there’s a common question the Rubi family gets about Spider Sushi Bar on Perryville Road.

How does a family with Mexican heritage come to run a Japanese restaurant?

The answer lies with the family’s patriarch Miguel Rubi, a native of Mexico City who spent nearly three decades learning the cuisine while working at a Japanese restaurant before opening Spider.

“He decided to open his own spot, put his own twist into it, kind of a Mexican-Asian fushion,” Azul Rubi said of her father opening what’s now a family-run business. “That’s our special touch. That’s what Spider is really known for, that mix of cuisine.”

The Rubi family blends staples of Japanese cuisine with a Mexican influence. That can range from the house-made hot sauces to the spicy edamame and the touch of citrus on its Tulum roll, which is named for a city in Mexico where the family also runs a Spider Sushi.

The latest upgrades to Spider Sushi Bar, 641 S. Perryville Road, further lean into the mix between Mexican and Japanese flavors.

Last month, Spider upgraded its drink options from beer, wine and saki to a full bar including new specialty mezcalitas such as the smokey carajillo coffee cocktail, a hibiscus blend, tamarind and passion fruit.

“Each fruit is sliced and cut and squeezed onto every drink. We don’t have anything pre-made,” said Anahi Rubi, another of Miguel and Camelia’s daughters who helps run the restaurant.

A smokey carajillo cocktail and other drinks are pictured Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Spider Sushi Bar on Perryville Road in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Several of the drinks are lined with agave worm salt, also known as sal de gusano, an Oaxacan-style spice blend made from toasted agave worms, sea salt and chili peppers.

Deanna Gordon said she could taste the freshness of the citrus mezcalita when she dined at the restaurant last week.

“I can tell the freshness in it,” Gordon said. “You can taste it in the drink. It tastes very fresh, and it’s light.”

Gordon had stopped in for lunch with her 12-year-old daughter, Dayla Paschal, who considers Spider her favorite restaurant.

“It’s so fresh. It’s vibrant, it looks pretty. It’s just fun to be in here and everything tastes good,” Dayla said.

The Tulum roll on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Spider Sushi Bar, 641 S. Perryville Road, Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

The Rubi family was initially eyeing an expansion into extra space at Perryville Commons. When that didn’t work out, they decided to make changes in their current location by seeking an upgraded liquor license. City Council signed off on that in May and the upgrade was complete in September.

“We’ve been in business since 2008,” Azul Rubi said. “Me and my sister are now taking over, and we wanted to add our touch to it. We wanted to modernize it and elevate it.”

The menu features more than 70 sushi rolls, as well as several noodle dishes, hot appetizers, soups and combination teppan dishes.

“We’re hoping to add a lot of energy into the room,” Azul Rubi said. “We want to have this be a place where people can come, sit down, have some refreshing drinks with their family or friends, enjoy their time here, and eat some delicious food that they can pair with their drink.”

Azul Rubi lights a cinnamon stick in a carajillo cocktail on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, at Spider Sushi Bar on Perryville Road in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

The family opened the first Spider Sushi on Harrison Avenue in 2008, and then opened in 2019 inside Perryville Commons near Panera Bread and Cold Stone Creamery. They sold the Harrison Avenue location in 2021. The family also has a Spider location in Tulum, Mexico, which opened in 2022 and is operated by Miguel Rubi Jr.

The family said they’re working on some additional projects they hope to announce soon.

“They are one of the most driven families I’ve ever worked with, and they have more things in the works,” said Karen Hobbs of KH Food Safety Consulting, which is working with the family. “So stay tuned.”