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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
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Office Hours

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  3. Downtown's first kaiten (belt) sushi restaurant opens on Friday

Downtown’s first kaiten (belt) sushi restaurant opens on Friday

Plates of sushi are added to a conveyor belt for customers to choose from at the Sushi Track.
Plates of sushi are added to a conveyor belt for customers to choose from at the Sushi Track.

Sushi Maru, a kaiten-style sushi restaurant, opens its doors on Friday in the former spot of Sawtooth Grill in River Park Square. Kaiten restaurants use conveyor belts with foods on plates that pass by diners’ tables. Diners pull off the items they want.

Sushi Maru is run by Paul Choi, a Bellevue owner of a number of kaiten restaurants in western Washington.  Choi has stocked Sushi Maru with an extensive sake bar in the restaurant lounge. It will seat 145, counting lounge and dining area.

Plates are equipped with microchips that keep track of how long they sit on the conveyor belt. After an hour, food items not selected get pulled off, to insure that customers get fresh choices.

Hours are 11 a.m. to close Monday through Saturday, noon to close on Sunday. Disclaimer: River Park Square is owned by Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

Tom Sowa
Tom Sowa covers technology, retail and economic development and writes the Office Hours blog.