DEARBORN — For years, Dearborn lacked a focused place for sushi lovers to get their fix. But now that the Kabuki sushi bar and restaurant is in town, the drive time for a taste of their favorite rolls and other sushi delicacies has been cut a significant amount.

“Our owner, K.J. Lee, used to talk to people from Dearborn all the time at the Farmington Hills restaurant who said they drove 30 minutes just to get some sushi,” said Jay Park, the main server at Kabuki, which is located in west Dearborn on Michigan Avenue between Howard and Military streets.

“People now come in and tell us how happy they are to not have to drive 30 minutes to get sushi.”

While Dearborn does have a Benihana’s Restaurant near Fairlane Mall, Kabuki’s owner, Lee, believed that his smaller, intimate, and casual restaurant that specializes in various types of popular sushi rolls could fill an important niche in the area for people who want a sushi-focused place to discover new tastes.

“Our spices are totally different from other restaurants,” said Park about the style of Kabuki compared to other sushi places.

Park added that Arab customers are flocking to the restaurant because of its powerful flavors.

“I think that Kabuki is pretty spicy and has a strong taste, that’s why Arab customers like it here.”

The restaurant’s style is described by Park as “Americanized Japanese”; a fusion of both domestic and overseas sushi flavors.

Some popular sushi items include the maki roll, a popular type of fish roll, as well as the baked spicy shrimp and crab roll, the latter of which is something that many other local sushi restaurants don’t offer according to Park.

Kabuki offers people who aren’t keen on the idea of eating sushi the option to have their sushi baked or fried in the restaurant, and there are some chicken and beef items (although they aren’t halal) on the menu as well as salads and Japanese soups. There are 12 types of baked roll specialties on the menu but any sushi item can be cooked if requested.

The restaurant hopes to get its liquor license to serve wine and sake in the next 2-3 months but the lack of one currently hasn’t stopped business from being brisk.

Lunch specials for $7.95 are popular and some rolls, which come in groups of six, are priced low, in the $2.25-$5.25 range, allowing customers to try a wide variety of new flavors each time they visit Kabuki.

Park insists that the experience of opening the diner’s mind and getting them to try new foods is the mission of Kabuki, not necessarily just to make money.

“We want to introduce new flavors to a new part of town, and we’re happy to be here to show the customers our own recipes.

“Kabuki brings a unique way to experience Japanese dining in Dearborn.”