Century-Old Downtown Department Store’s New ‘Live-Work-Play’ Life Includes Sushi

Red Phone Booth and Amalfi Pizza owner Stephen de Haan is partnering with master sushi chef Saito Saito to open Saito: Sushi, Steak, and Cocktails at 207 Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Atlanta Business Chronicle reports.

The 2,200-square-foot restaurant will be located in the lobby of the century-old, former Regenstein’s department store — rebranded as “The Department Building” — which remained mostly vacant for the last forty years.

Saito Sushi includes an outdoor terrace with removable glass walls and will highlight sushi made from fish flow in daily from Japan as well as fresh cut steaks. The bar plans to feature cocktails using Japanese ingredients such as yuzu and shiso, along with rare Japanese whiskeys served over “double reverse osmosis ice” pressed into a sphere using a Taisin ice mold.

This isn’t the first restaurant collaboration between de Haan and Saito Saito. Sushi lovers may be familiar with the chef’s food from his time at the now shuttered Czar Ice Bar in Buckhead at the Andrews Entertainment District. There, Saito Saito was known for his sushi rolls like the Lady in the Water, consisting of lobster, cream cheese, and green ceviche sauce, and cooked items like his wasabi pork dumplings. Czar Bar closed in 2015.

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The restaurant is part of a $10.5 million renovation effort meant to preserve the building’s historic aesthetic. The Department Building is owned by Marx Realty. A photo of the store during its heyday in downtown Atlanta is currently available on the company’s website.

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