The Kura Revolving Sushi Bar in Cherry Hill opened just seven months ago, and already they are looking to expand their offerings with a deal to acquire a liquor license… which was previously held by the TGI Friday’s restaurant in town.
To be clear, Kura Revolving Sushi Bar is staying in its location in the Garden State Park shopping development on Route 70, located in front of the Wegmans Supermarket.
Where one fails, others succeed. It’s an interesting twist of events for the 2 restaurant chains as Kura Cherry Hill opened mid-October of 2024, and TGI Friday’s Cherry Hill closed just two weeks later in the same month! And now Kura Sushi is taking over the failed TGI Friday location’s liquor license.
If you are unfamiliar with Kura Sushi… well have you seen the viral sushi restaurant conveyor video clips, where as you sit at your table, fresh sushi glides past you and you take what you want? That’s exactly what Kura is all about!
It’s an awesome way to try a variety of sushi with a family or a group of friends, and Kura makes it a fun and interactive experience.
Cherry Hill Liquor License Market Softer?
As mentioned Kura opened in Cherry Hill back in October, but without a liquor license for the opening and honestly… nothing about the configuration of the restaurant indicates that they were even thinking about getting a liquor license when the opened.
The Sushi restaurant’s location offers a somewhat small dining room… and typically you would see a much larger seating capacity to support the cost of the liquor license and associated inventory as well as have room for a bar area.
I’ll add that its long been stated that liquor licenses for Cherry Hill have sold previously for top dollar, with some sales reportedly over a million dollars.
But maybe Cherry Hill liquor license costs are dropping in the popular restaurant town… back in December I wrote about the Mikado Japanese Sushi and Grill on Route 70 was also adding alcohol, taking over the license which was previously used that Roku Japanese buffet (Famous Dave’s).
In 2024 Kooma at the mall grabbed what was the California Pizza Kitchen license. In 2022 Ill Villagio took over the former Tir Na Nog license and 2020 saw Ristorante Toscana grabbing a license from the closed Chili’s.
A new law passed by Governor Murphy last year also allows large malls (such as the Cherry Hill Mall) to be allocated a number of new issue liquor licenses for use on the property, but that potential impact on licensing pricing has not really been determined.
TGI Friday’s Cherry Hill
Another surprising aspect to Kura Sushi acquiring the “Friday’s” license is that it leaves the now empty TGI Friday’s building in the AMC Parking lot without a liquor license… which could lower interest from prospective buyers.
It’s fair to say that with the configuration of the TGI Friday’s restaurant building it would be easier to sell or lease it to a new tenant, if a liquor license were readily available.
I’ve seen in some cases when a restaurant closes down in a shopping center the center owner moves to secure that liquor license so that it can be reused again at the same location… such is the case with the Don Pablos license in Deptford New Jersey, which is held as a “pocket license” by the shopping center owner.
The Philadelphia Business Journal reported recently that the Cherry Hill TGI Friday’s property will be up for sale. Currently the restaurant building is configured as part of the main lot shared with the movie theater, but the owner of the large property will be carving the TGI Friday’s restaurant out into it’s own property/tax lot and putting it up for sale… seemingly without a liquor license attached.
Links and Location
Kura Sushi Cherry Hill
2000 ROUTE 70 SUITE C
CHERRY HILL, NJ 08002
Phone: 856-425-2225