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Mainstreet Ventures plans to open a restaurant in the former Kuroshio space in downtown Ann Arbor.

(Lizzy Alfs | The Ann Arbor News)

Related story: Asian fusion restaurant Kuroshio on Liberty Street closed after one year

Dennis Serras, partner in the Mainstreet Ventures restaurant group, is trying his hand at a new concept in downtown Ann Arbor.

Serras signed a lease to open Piata, a Mediterranean–style restaurant, in the 3,800-square-foot space formerly occupied by Kuroshio on the corner of East Liberty Street and Fourth Avenue.

Kuroshio closed Monday, one year after opening, when the owners decided the restaurant wasn't profitable enough to remain in business. Ed Shaffran owns the building at 120 E. Liberty St.

Serras said he looked at the Kuroshio space in December, and decided immediately it would be the site of his new restaurant.

“I’m back in the game,” he said. “Old Mainstreet Ventures is coming back.”

Serras opened the Real Seafood Company on Ann Arbor's South Main Street in 1975. Mainstreet Ventures now operates 16 restaurants in five states, including Ann Arbor's Gratzi, Carson's, Palio, The Chop House and La Dolce Vita. The company announced in October it plans to open a Real Seafood Co. in Bay City.

Serras said he’s impressed with newer restaurants in Ann Arbor, such as Adam Baru’s Mani and Isalita, and Peter and John Roumanis’ Vellum. He wanted to open a restaurant concept that would complement the cuisines offered in the downtown area.

Piata’s tagline will be “Food From The Mediterranean,” and Serras said there will be quite a few small plate options on the menu.

“We have the preliminary menus we put together and we’re going to try some new stuff,” Serras said. “We’re going to do more tasting.”

One idea, Serras said, is to mimic the wine service at Mainstreet Venture’s Revolution Grille in Toledo. When customers order a bottle of wine, they can drink as much as they like from it and then are charged accordingly.

Real Seafood Company in downtown Ann Arbor was recently remodeled, 37 years after it opened.

Other ideas for the space include creating an outdoor dining area with a canopy, similar to European cafes, and adding high-top seating where people can hang out and enjoy wine and small plates.

“We don’t want an expensive place,” Serras said. “You can order five, six different things and not go broke doing it. I serve a steak for $43 in Ann Arbor (at The Chop House) and there are a lot of people who can’t afford $43 steaks.”

Serras has a draft menu for Piata, design plans are in the works and he said renovations should start in April. He plans to open the restaurant May 8.

“I’m moving on this. I’m not fooling around,” he said.

The owners of Kuroshio, the Wang family, spent months renovating the space on East Liberty Street after Champion House closed, and they invested a lot of money in redoing the kitchen, bar and bathrooms. Serras said the facility is in great shape, but he still plans to transform the look and feel of the restaurant.

“(The Wangs) really spent a lot of money in that place. Everything is new: new bathrooms, new air conditioning, new stainless steel kitchen, new walk-ins. They kept it up. …You won’t recognize the place when (we) get done with it.”

A restaurateur for decades, Serras knows it's not easy to operate a successful food business. He said it's important to make menu changes and infrastructure improvements in order to continue attracting customers. Most recently, Real Seafood Co. in downtown Ann Arbor was remodeled.

“If you want a place to last 37 years, you better stay up with it,” he said. “We don’t just take out (of our restaurants), we put back into them to maintain that success.”

Lizzy Alfs is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at 734-623-2584, email her lizzyalfs@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter.