Origami Restaurant is reopening in Uptown but under new ownership and with a slightly different name, according to public documents filed with the City of Minneapolis. The new owners said they are opening April 5.
Origami Restaurant closed in January, with a posted sign saying it would be open again in February, but the restaurant didn’t reopen. Then in March, the City Council approved a liquor license for a new business, Origami Tiger Sushi, at the address where Origami Restaurant operated for ten years. A liquor license application indicates there’s a new owner but not an entirely new concept.
Origami Restaurant announced in an August post on Instagram that ownership would transfer to its head sushi chef, Chef Leo. The new liquor license application names Tony Xayavong as the manager and Phon Sisomphan as owner of Origami Tiger Sushi. It is unclear if Leo has anything to do with Origami Tiger Sushi, but the liquor license indicates he no longer has ownership in the business.
Origami Restaurant has a long history in Minneapolis. The flagship location operated downtown from 1990 to 2015. The original owner, Kiminobu Ichikawa, bought the restaurant’s building in 1995.
The Uptown location opened in 2013. If Origami Tiger Sushi is going to be considered a new restaurant, the former iteration would have been open for 10 years. Prior to the Uptown location, Origami Restaurant also operated a Minnetonka location at Ridgedale Mall from 2004 to 2012.
Origami Tiger Restaurant expects to open in April. The restaurant is located at 1354 Lagoon Ave.