FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (August 11, 2021) – Evidencing the explosive growth of South Florida’s retail market, Sushi Maki has signed a 2,136-square-foot lease on the iconic Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. Located on the ground floor of a Class A, 287,000-square-foot office building at 200 East Las Olas Boulevard, the new concept in “Polished Fast-Casual Dining” is slated to open in October.

Founded by noted business leader Abe Ng, Sushi Maki is a sushi bar chain with more than 20 locations across the tri-county region. The restaurant will be Sushi Maki's first high street-urban location, and first restaurant in Broward County. The ground-floor retail. The space was previously occupied by Beehive.

Colliers’ Jenny Gefen, Director - Retail, represented Sushi Maki in the transaction. PRII SR 200 EAST LAS OLAS OWNER, LLC, a joint venture between Prudential and Stiles, is the landlord and was represented by Stiles’ Michael Carpenter. 

“The space provides Sushi Maki with incredible visibility along the burgeoning Las Olas strip and an ideal venue for introducing a new sushi bar concept alongside the market’s top retail operators,” Gefen said. “This location will benefit from the area's daytime population of office workers, as well as the surrounding residential and nightlife crowds. The continued expansion of retailers and restaurants highlights the strength of our market as we move into the second half of 2021.” 

Ng, who strategically expanded his family’s Canton Chinese Restaurants since the late 1990s to become an award-winning, go-to regional sushi brand, is responding to changing customer preferences and market dynamics in the New Normal by introducing the “Polished Fast-Casual Dining” concept which he expects will create a new industry standard. Specifically, the Polished Fast-Casual Dining concept represents an evolution of the traditional fast-casual by including real glassware and plateware rather than disposable options, and enabling customers to choose whether to order from team members or QR codes and enjoy their meals at tables indoors or outdoors, or pick up their meals curbside from dedicated “grab and go'' parking spots.

“Expanding to Fort Lauderdale’s bustling Las Olas corridor is a pivotal strategic step as part of our continued expansion as South Florida’s go-to sushi restaurant brand,” Ng said. “We are seeing a growing demand for quality lunch and dinner options on Las Olas as our business-friendly region continues to attract local and national professionals and families. These individuals are migrating to Fort Lauderdale based on its attractive benefits, including beautiful weather, great schools, access to mass transit, central location between Miami and Palm Beach, and unique entertainment and amenities in what is becoming a regional destination to live, work and play.”

According to the Colliers’ preliminary Q2 retail market report, the Broward retail market remained strong, with only a .3% increase in vacancy since Q2 2020. Downtown Fort Lauderdale’s direct vacancy rate was 5.3%, with the highest average direct triple-net asking rates in Broward County.