Curt Smith

Lansing State Journal

ALAIEDON TWP. – A third Ukai Japanese restaurant will open at the site of a former sports bar in the busy Okemos Road-Jolly Road commercial area.

The business, Ukai Restaurant, will be located in the former Frank’s Press Box East at 2314 Woodlake Drive, according to plans submitted to Alaiedon Township. The owner-operator, Song Su Kim, could not be reached for comment.

Todd Kosta of the real estate firm CBRE/Martin, who brokered the property sale, said Kim anticipates a mid-September opening.

Two other locations, Ukai Hibachi Grill & Sushi Bar West Lansing and Ukai Japanese Steakhouse, are in Delta Township and Okemos, respectively. Kim also is operations director for Ai Fusion Sushi & Grill in East Lansing, according to his LinkedIn page.

Renovations to the building, which was gutted, are underway. Township records show a building permit for the 6,800-square-foot building was issued May 23, and plans call for a one-story, 341-seat restaurant. They also show a 12 foot-by-10 foot entry vestibule, which is now built.

Kosta said the new business will have a bar, a sushi dining area and traditional Japanese steakhouse tables.

The property ownership was transferred for $670,000 on July 24, 2015, records show.

Contact Curt Smith at (517) 377-1226 or csmith@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @CurtSmithLSJ.