Ozumo closes doors

Ozumo, a Japanese restaurant that started business at Fashion Island

in December, has closed its doors.

The restaurant closed shop Sept. 17, Irvine Co. spokesman Bill

Rams said. The Newport Beach-based Irvine Co. owns Fashion Island.

The restaurant’s closure occurred the same weekend as Taste of

Newport, the local food festival at which Ozumo made an appearance.

Taste of Newport was organized by the Newport Beach Chamber of

Commerce, and chamber president Richard Luehrs said he was surprised

when he noticed the restaurant was closed following the weekend

festival.

“It was a shock to us,” Luehrs said.

The Newport Beach restaurant was launched by Jeremy Umland, who

opened the first Ozumo restaurant near San Francisco’s waterfront.

Umland, who played baseball in Japan before working in that county as

an investment banker, said in January that he envisioned Ozumo as a

place for authentic Japanese cuisine. The restaurant served sushi,

grilled robata dishes and had a lengthy sake list.

The restaurant’s ideal of emulating Japanese culture went beyond

the culinary traditions of Japan. Restaurant employees were trained

to greet diners in Japanese and follow Japanese business customs.

The restaurant’s concept, successful in San Francisco, did not

work in Newport Beach, said Nina Robinson, vice president of

marketing for the Irvine Co.’s retail properties.

Calls to Ozumo’s San Francisco restaurant were not returned

Thursday. Rams said the Irvine Co. has not yet signed a new tenant

for the restaurant’s space.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at

o7andrew.edwards@latimes.comf7.