Award-winning Sozai restaurant in Clawson shutters
A notable, small and award-winning sushi restaurant centered on sustainable seafood has permanently closed.
Sozai in Clawson's last day of service was Saturday, according to their website. Owner and chef Hajime Sato, reached via email Sunday evening, directed the Free Press to his Instagram and Facebook pages for a statement.
The post said that he and his family are returning to the Pacific Northwest.
'After an extended period of reflection, it is clear that the best thing my family is for us to return to the Pacific Northwest,' the post read.
Sato, in his social media messages, said it will be 'extremely difficult' to leave Sozai.
'I put everything I had into building something special for my customers and to further my work as a sustainable seafood advocate,' the post read.
In 2021, Sato opened the small, 13-seat sushi bar in a W. 14 Mile strip mall. Sato is known for being a steadfast leader and advocate for sustainable sushi, seafood and place of origin fishery movement.
Soon after its 2021 opening, Sozai quickly earned accolades and acclaim. Sozai was named the 2022 Detroit Free Pres Restaurant of the Year by Free Press restaurant critic Lyndsay C. Green. The sustainable seafood spot was also named to Bon Appétit's 50 Best New Restaurants 2022 list. Before opening Sozai in 2021, Sato who grew up in Japan, had a restaurant in Seattle for more than 25 years.
Related: Clawson sushi chef Hajime Sato wins coveted James Beard Award: Best Chef Great Lakes
Grateful for the win, Sato told the Free Press at the time, because it gave him a platform to speak out on ocean sustainability. He delivered that sustainability message during his James Beard Award speach in 2024 and encouraged others to do the same.
In accepting his award, Sato's speech included his messages about how James Beard nominations allowed him to speak out on concerns with sustainability and the risks of overfishing.
"But something changed after James Beard … people started listening to me. I've been doing ocean conservation and sustainable sushi for 15 years," Sato said. "Oceans (are) not in good shape. As you know, Earth is not in good shape. And a small restaurant like me cannot really do that much. But everybody here … nominations, winners, everybody, now you have a voice, just like I didn't have a voice, but because of James Beard, you have a little bit more voice."
It was the second time that Sato was a James Beard finalist. He landed a spot in the 2023 James Beard Foundation Awards category for Outstanding Chef.
Sato's win was the first time a Michigan chef earned the honored in the Best Chef category since 2011, according to the James Beard Award website, when Alex Young, formerly of Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor, was honored as Best Chef Great Lakes. In 2003, chef Takashi Yagihashi of the former Tribute restaurant in Farmington Hills took home the award for Best Chef: Midwest. Chef Jimmy Schmidt in 1993, then owner of the Rattlesnake Club in Detroit, was named Best Chef: Midwest. At the 2022 Restaurant and Chef Awards, Warda Bouguettaya, owner of Midtown's Warda Pâtisserie, won the title of Outstanding Pastry Chef.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Award-winning sushi chef Hajime Sato closes Sozai in Clawson
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