Mikado Japanese Sushi & Grill on Route 70 in Cherry Hill is adding a liquor license (beer, wine, liquor), which they are acquiring from the Raku Japanese Buffet restaurant which is just two miles east on the same roadway.
Raku is remaining open. Today they continue to serve alcohol until the liquor license transfer is completed. Once the transaction is done, Raku will continue to operate as a delicious All-You-Can-Eat Japanese Buffet… likely supporting BYOB just like their “sister” location Umi in Deptford.
Not a ton of details on this one yet other than ownership of the restaurants are moving through the process to legally transfer the liquor license over.
Mikado Japanese Sushi & Grill
Mikado is located on Route 70 next to Vera Bar & Lounge… and King Of Pizza.
Mikado has been in that same location for over 20 years, becoming known in the Cherry Hill area as one of the top spots for amazing Japanese cuisine… from sushi to noodles, salads to teriyaki and more… they have it all.
For Mikado the addition of a liquor license will expand the dining experience, with them being able to offer signature cocktails, ice cold beers, wine and more.
At this time though I am unaware as to how Mercado will fully utilize the new license… if there will be changes to the restaurant or the addition of a bar.
What is known is… acquiring a liquor license in Cherry Hill is typically no simple task.
You’re likely aware that New Jersey liquor licenses can be difficult to obtain as each town is allocated a number of licenses based on population.
While Cherry Hill is a large town with a significant allocation of liquor licenses, it is also a powerful commercial hub of restaurants which means liquor licenses are very popular, typically difficult to acquire, and usually very expensive due to their infrequent availability to acquire.
In this case, Mikado was able to find an available liquor license with the Raku Japanese Buffet.
Raku AYCE & Japanese Buffet
Rako All-You-Can-Eat Japanese Buffet opened in the Spring of 2023 taking over the building which was previously a Crab Du Jour location. Before that the building was developed as a Famous Dave’s BBQ.
Industry trends in the buffet space show that customers are typically more focused on the large array of food in the buffet than the are in “drinks”… factor in the high-value of a Cherry Hill liquor license.. it likely lead to the decision to sell the license.
As mentioned Raku All-You-Can-Eat will remain open, likely switching to a BYOB model.
More details to come as Mikado gets closer to offering alcohol drinks.
Links and Location
Mikado Japanese Sushi & Grill
2320 Marlton Pike West
Cherry Hill NJ 08002
Raku All-You-Can-Eat Sushi & Japanese Buffet
104 Route 70
Cherry Hill NJ