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o-iza

A banner at River Park teases the opening for O-iza Japanese restaurant in this July 2023 file photo

published on July 24, 2023 - 11:23 AM
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A major corner at River Park that has changed hands several times over the past decade will once again welcome a new restaurant, with temporary banners going up last month teasing an opening this fall.

O-iza Japanese Cuisine will go into the former Brooks Burgers space, which opened in October 2021 and closed last year. The site was also home to The Hangar, another burger place that closed in 2021. The original tenant was World Sports Cafe, which closed in 2014 after 15 years.

Sources tie the restaurant to local restaurateur Jason Lin, who already operates two other Asian-inspired eateries at River Park — Jpot and Spicy J’s. Lin also owns Hino Oishi and both Ramen Hayashi restaurants in Fresno. Lin’s father opened Lin’s Fusion buffet.

Lin and River Park management did not respond for comment about the restaurant.

A Google listing for O-Iza reveals the restaurant will combine sushi, teppanyaki and traditional Japanese cuisine with a traditional feel.

It was a niche that needed filling, according to River Park management.

“One of the things we’re missing is sushi,” River Park spokesperson Tracy Kashian informed The Fresno Bee’s Bethany Clough this year, adding that River Park has lacked a sushi restaurant since the closure of Yoshino’s in 2020.

Lin has been behind several changes to the food mix at River Park, with nearby Spicy J’s Specialty Chinese Cuisine taking the space formerly owned by longtime River Park staple Dai Bai Dang. Next door to O-iza, the Jpot hot-pot restaurant opened in 2019.


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