Sakura Japanese Restaurant sets opening date

Fans of the popular Sakura Japanese Restaurant finally have an opening date.

Sakura, closed since the October 2015 flooding, will open in a new location at 4430 Rosewood Drive.

The opening date, according to a sign on the door, is next week – Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Sakura, one of Columbia’s first sushi restaurants when it opened in 1984, was devastated by floods that swept through its Forest Lake Shopping Center location in Forest Acres.

Owner Norio Saito has remodeled the new Rosewood space, which was home for more than a decade to Fujiya Japanese Restaurant. Fujiya closed earlier this year. There’s an extended sushi bar now and new flooring.

Sakura’s loyal fans were hopeful the place would come back, and a Go Fund Me page that was started after the flooding raised thousands toward that goal.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Sakura Japanese Restaurant sets opening date."