Bluefin raises $24,000 for Japanese relief fund

Bluefin restaurant in Newport Beach raised more than $24,000 for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster at a fundraiser last month, according to a news release.

About 250 people participated in a March 27 brunch at the Crystal Cove Promenade restaurant on East Coast Highway in Newport Coast.

The funds will be donated to the American Red Cross Japanese Disaster Relief Fund.

“We are thrilled with the response we received and are overwhelmed that we were able to raise $24,000,” Ted Lee, a partner in Bluefin, said in a prepared statement. “It means a lot to Chef Abe and the entire Bluefin family, as many of our employees are natives of Japan.”

Master Chef Takashi Abe, who opened Bluefin in 2005, is a native of Yamagata, Japan.

—Sarah Peters