Home » Long-tenured downtown Japanese restaurant to close in December

Long-tenured downtown Japanese restaurant to close in December

| Mason King
Keywords Downtown / Real Estate / Restaurants / Retail / Tourism & Hospitality
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Mikado Japanese Restaurant at 148 S. Illinois St. was one of the many downtown businesses to suffer vandalism during riots in May 2020 downtown. (IBJ photo)

Mikado Japanese Restaurant is planning to close its doors in early December after a 23-year run downtown across from Circle Centre mall and in the heart of the city’s convention-and-expo sector.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that we have to say goodbye,” a Facebook post from the restaurant on Wednesday reads. It doesn’t specify why Mikado is closing.

“Our family is looking forward to taking a much-needed break [but] we will be back with a new project soon,” the post reads.

The restaurant at 148 S. Illinois St. is family-, women- and minority-owned, according to the post. Its menu focuses on sushi, sashimi, several varieties of dumplings and typical Japanese steakhouse favorites such as teriyaki ribeye, teriyaki salmon and lobster.

The restaurant’s space at the northwest corner of Georgia and Illinois streets is well-positioned to take advantage of downtown tourism, just a block east of the Indiana Convention Center.

“We’re proud to have … navigated through the 2008 financial crisis, served crowds of people during Super Bowl XLVI and now weathering through the COVID-19 pandemic,” the post reads.

Now in its 19th month, the COVID-19 pandemic has been especially damaging for restaurants as some diners shy away from close contact with people outside their immediate circles. It also has hindered the usual flow of convention events and attendees downtown.

“Thank you to our guests for sharing your birthdays, date nights, marriage proposals, anniversaries and other special events with us,” the Facebook post reads. “We hope your memories of us include our sushi, mystery rolls, salmon teriyaki and most importantly a fond enjoyable dining experience with us.”

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11 thoughts on “Long-tenured downtown Japanese restaurant to close in December”

  1. What a loss for Indy.
    Another long-time restaurant closed this year , too–Marco’s at 54th and Keystone.
    Customers still don’t know why it closed or if there are any plans to reopen it, or, what might takes its place.
    any info from IBJ?

  2. Wow another empty storefront . Not good for the downtown. What happened to our vibrant downtown and mall? Crime.
    People are afraid to come downtown.

    1. Um, online shopping. We happily travel downtown from Carmel when we want to. Your fear of the “crime wave” is grossly overstated.

      We don’t, however, visit Circle Centre (or any other mall, really).

    2. Try Covid-19. Like a lot of large Downtown restaurants, they were largely dependent on conventions and office workers.

  3. Yes, friends, panhandling, homeless wanderers, and crime have proliferated.
    Unlearning the offenses is hard to do despite Mayor Hogsett’s urging.

  4. “Peaceful Riots by friends of Mayor, Antifa, BLM”, Continued crime, empty storefronts. A complete travesty how this city was built up only to be ruined in 2 nights. And where was the Mayor during these peaceful nights of love?

    1. You seem to know how to comment on articles but not how to read them to understand why the family decided to close and re-open with a new concept next year….

      SAD!

  5. I’m sorry James. I am not trained at reading into the story. Just reading the story which states, ” It doesn’t specify why Mikado is closing”.