A year after award-winning chef, Henry Moso, nearly doubled the space of the original East Colonial Drive location of Kabooki Sushi, he’s expanding again.
This time, he’s turning the adjacent vacant store (that used to be a cell phone repair) into the Kabooki Lounge and a room for large parties. The restaurant that began as an 1,800-sq. ft. space and was expanded to more than 3,000 sq. ft. last year will now be about 5,000 sq. ft.
The front of the adjacent store — about 800 sq. ft. — will be turned into the upscale Kabooki Lounge, he said. It will be a waiting area for customers of the main restaurant as well as an after-(restaurant) hours bar, serving drinks and small plates after the restaurant closes at 11 p.m.
He said the Lounge will be the same muted gray, gold and wood tones as in the existing restaurant but in darker, warmer shades. It will easily seat 50 or 60 people, Moso said.
“It will be dimmer, cozier and more high end. There will be low sofas and candles,” Moso said. There is really nothing like that around, he said. It will fill a void for people who just want to come in and have a cocktail and maybe some finger foods.
A barn door that can be slid open or closed depending on the time of day and the size of the crowds will separate the new and old spaces, both of which will have easy access to the kitchen.
The new “party room” behind the Lounge area will be for big parties as well as parties of more than six who come into the main restaurant, he said. It can also serve as the restaurant when the main dining room is bought out by a person or a company for a really big occasion.
Moso was only 22 when he opened Kabooki. (By the way, there is a second location at 7705 Turkey Lake Road in Orlando.) A native of Laos, he said it was his childhood travels across Southeast Asia that made him aspire to be a chef.
Though his father raised him, it was his mother who nurtured his diligence and drive, Moso says on his website. “She came here with two bare hands, and she worked so hard to get to where she’s at,” he recalls. Henry sharpened his skills, and knives, at her restaurants, Bangkok Square and Origami Sushi, when he was 15 and came to Florida. She remains his foremost inspiration.
The expansion and renovation project is being done by BDM Construction of Orlando. Company owner David Aurelio said he’s excited to be working on such a cool project.
