TOLEDO, Ohio — After months of planning, a Toledo chef is opening another restaurant, this time at Hollywood Casino on Miami St. in east Toledo.
Chef Kengo Kato will be opening his third restaurant in the city on Sunday, January 29.
Shobu by Kengo will feature traditional sushi and yakitori as well as what the restaurant is calling a unique drink menu.
The restaurant will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. and will be open to the public at 5 p.m.
Shobu by Kengo promises a few new menu items that will be exclusive to the casino restaurant but will also offer favorites from Chef Kato’s other restaurant, Kengo Sushi and Yakitori: negitoro rolls, bacon-wrapped tomatoes, wagyu, and skipjack.
“The most important thing for us at the casino was to not try and change anything from Kengo’s vision,” said General Manager, Brad Hirsch. Kengo Sushi downtown has become an absolute staple in Toledo, and we had no intention of changing that here."
The restaurant will have 45 seats and will be first come first served.
It will be open for dinner starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and will be closed Monday and Tuesday.
Although it is not open yet for lunch the restaurant hopes to add the service in the near future.
Chef Kato, who grew up in New York City, says he chose the name “Shobu”, which is Japanese for “challenge”, as a tribute to his father, Isao Kato, who was also a chef.
Chef Kato opened the popular Kengo Sushi and Yakitori on S. St. Clair St. in downtown Toledo in 2015.
In October 2022, Chef Kato opened Kato Ramen next door to Kengo Sushi.
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