Hamden-based all-you-can-eat sushi bar Sushi Palace is opening a second location on Washington Avenue in North Haven on Sunday.
The new restaurant will be larger than Sushi Palace’s current Dixwell location and will have a parking lot, but will be almost 10 miles away from Central Campus, six miles farther than the restaurant’s Dixwell location.
“We have thought about moving [closer] to Yale but it is hard to find a spot,” said the restaurant’s manager, Andy Chen. “We may still move to Yale, and this may lead to more customers.”
The expansion is a first for Sushi Palace. The new restaurant will have the same menu and decor as the one on Dixwell, which is operating over capacity, Chen said. Diners frequently have to wait in line and only about eight cars can park along the street outside the restaurant, he said.
Chen said he does not know what kind of customers the new location will attract but said they will likely be New Haven and North Haven residents. Currently, most Sushi Palace patrons are from New Haven, Milford and North Haven, he said.
Seven Yalies said because Sushi Palace is relatively far from central campus, they would rather go to Miya’s Sushi on Howe Street or Sushi on Chapel, which are just a few blocks away. If the new restaurant were closer to campus, the students said they would probably go. They said they will probably continue going to the Dixwell Sushi Palace, which is about 3.5 miles from campus, because they are able to get a greater quantity and quality of food for a lower price than they can get at other New Haven sushi restaurants.
Brian Fidali ’11 said he has gone to Sushi Palace four times and drove there each time.
“My friends compete [for who can eat the most] when we go, but I don’t,” he said. “I only go to Sushi Palace for special occasions or when I want to eat so much sushi that I throw up.”
The North Haven Sushi Palace will be located at 344 Washington Ave. Sushi Palace’s all-you-can-eat sushi costs $17.95 on weekdays and $19.95 on the weekends.
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