Japanese restaurant up and running; owner surprised by fondness of sushi here

Midori is a Japanese word for freshness, Dinah Agustin said. It is also the name of her new restaurant in Cape Girardeau.

The Jonesboro, Arkansas-based restaurateur said that idea of freshness is what inspired her to open the restaurant at 2106 William St. in what used to house Bagger Dave’s Legendary Burger Tavern.

Fresh, she said, also describes her approach to the sushi and hibachi experience as a whole.

While other places center patrons around a grill to watch their food being prepared, the seating in Midori is more like conventional restaurants, with individual tables.

“People don’t always want to be sitting with strangers at a grill,” Agustin said.

People eat lunch at Midori Japanese Cuisine on Thursday in Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

But customers in Cape Girardeau have been surprisingly receptive to the fare at Midori, she said.

“People here love sushi,” she said. “It was really surprising.”

In Jonesboro, she said, people tend to prefer cooked options to traditional sushi.

“I think maybe because it’s closer to St. Louis, [people] like the raw fish more. They’re more open to it,” she said of Cape Girardeau diners.

She said not many renovations were necessary to get the restaurant up and running, and she’s hired about a dozen area residents for staff.

“We didn’t have to do a lot,” she said. “For the hibachi grill, we had to put in a hood, do some painting, making it look different, since it used to be an American restaurant.”

Now it’s more in keeping with the clean, green and fresh aesthetic she said she envisioned.

“We hope people will come out and try it,” she said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627

Pertinent address:

2106 William St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.