A Modern Japanese American Restaurant Is Opening Downtown #DetroitFood
The ownership behind the shuttered Black Ginger Korean American restaurant is bringing crispy chicken katsu, nigiri, and other modern takes on traditional Japanese cuisine to the Federal Reserve Building
The downtown space that until September housed Maru Sushi for more than seven years will soon have a new tenant called Soraya. Described by the Detroit Free Press as a modern Japanese American restaurant, the project comes from Harold Kim, the owner behind another recently shuttered restaurant, Corktown’s Black Ginger. That restaurant had been situated within the Trumbull and Porter Hotel for just five months before it abruptly closed in October, citing a dispute with the property.
Kim tells the Freep that he bought the Maru Detroit business and following its closure, immediately went to work transforming the space. According to the daily, Kim says that the word “sora” translates to the Japanese word for sky and has Korean origins that translate to seashell. Details about the new menu are scarce so far, however, a glimpse of the restaurant’s Instagram offers and hint at what to expect. Items highlighted on the business’s social media account include a crispy citrus-brined chicken katsu with red cabbage slaw and tonkatsu sauce and an assortment of sushi rolls and nigiri.
Maru flung open its doors in 2016 on the ground level of the Federal Reserve Building as the sixth location at the time for an Okemos-based chain with locations in Grand Rapids, East Lansing, Kalamazoo, and Midland. When Maru first opened, the spot was initially noted for its sprawling 4,400-square-foot interior, which boasted seating for 145 and a spacious outdoor patio — an ideal space for accommodating office workers, happy hour, and large groups for special occasions. In 2018, Maru faced lawsuits from both employees and federal agencies for its wage policies. Former employees at the time accused management of engaging in an an illegal tip pool that required tipped minimum wage employees to share a fraction of a 10 percent service fee tacked onto customers’ bills with employees such as chefs, hosts, and dishwashers who received the standard minimum wage.
Black Ginger opened at the Porter and Trumbull Hotel and immediately gained a following for its Korean American menu that included fries loaded with bulgogi, Korean fried chicken smothered in gochujang barbecue sauce, and octopus skewers.
Soraya is at 160 W Fort Street and is expected to the public on Friday, November 15.
from Eater Detroit - All
Post a Comment