Avon Lake Opens First Sushi Bar

Marking a first for Avon Lake, the town saw its first-ever sushi bar debut April 29, with a soft opening at .

The restaurant, which took over the space formerly inhabited by Love and Laughter gift shop in The Landings on Walker Road, expanded approximately 800 square feet, adding a bar, sushi preparation area, additional seating and a water fountain.

The sushi bar is backed by a large salt-water tank which will be installed this week.

The restaurant began the expansion in the winter, completing renovations this week. Owner Tonya Kung felt Avon Lake was a logical choice for a sushi bar.

“This is a good market,” owner Tonya Kung said of Avon Lake. “There’s a lot of young people and you people like sushi.”

The sushi bar will complement Mark Pi's established menu of seafood, pork, chicken, beef and vegetarian entrees. In addition to spicy, hot Szechuan dishes from western China and milder Mandarin ones from the north, the restaurant will now offer a full menu of sushi, sashimi and maki rolls.

Asked which item is a specialty, Kung said “all of them.”

“They are all special; every one of them is like a decoration,” she said.

Presentation plays a big part of the sushi, including the Phoenix, Dragon Maki, the Red Devil and the Love Boat, 29 pieces of sushi that serves two to three people.   Other special maki rolls include tempura shrimp, spicy crawfish, shrimp, spicy king crab, soft shell cram and salmon. Sushi options include eel, octopus, yellow tail, tuna, crabmeat and flying fish roe.

Kung said the Avon Lake establishment brought in two sushi chefs, one from New York and one from Chicago, to make the sushi.

Mark Pi’s now has a full bar as well, tended by Debbie Morrow.