LAURINBURG — Asahi Japanese Cuisine held a ribbon cutting this week, celebrating its grand opening despite being in operation for nearly a year.
Mayor Jim Willis was in attendance and spoke, thanking owners Lucas Santiago and Roselvi Martinez for choosing Laurinburg as the destination for their newest restaurant and praising their food.
“We’re delighted to have you here,” Willis said, “Congratulations.”
Asahi opened on Nov. 11, 2022, but could not hold a grand opening celebration until Thursday due to several factors, including complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. Santiago said he was excited to finally have the ribbon cutting.
Santiago previously worked at the Asahi restaurant for four years before leaving the job for another. When the previous owner needed to sell the establishment, Santiago returned to Laurinburg to buy it in addition to the restaurant he already owned in Red Springs, partnering with Martinez for the new business venture.
“The previous owner wanted $200,000 for it originally,” Santiago said. “I couldn’t afford that, so I waited until he called me again, and I bought it for $30,000.”
Since purchasing the restaurant, Santiago has invested $65,000 into the kitchen renovations alone. He has replaced almost everything, from the grills to the fryers. He has also repainted and re-opened the dining room, as the restaurant had been window-order only beforehand.
Since its opening last year, Santiago said the restaurant has been quite successful. The establishment has gotten many positive reviews, and Santiago said he’s been told they have the best Japanese food in town, partially due to the Teriyaki sauce and shrimp sauce being made in-house.
Japanese restaurants are becoming more commonplace in Laurinburg. Asahi’s opening makes it the third restaurant of its kind in town, its competition being Miyako Japanese Cuisine and Little Fuji Restaurant.
“Our best sellers are our combination shrimp and chicken, steak and chicken, steak and shrimp, as well as our teriyaki chicken,” Santiago said. “My favorite is the steak and chicken with Teriyaki.”
Santiago encourages potential business owners to chase their dreams and open the business they’ve been thinking about.
“Never say it’s too hard,” he said. “It’s going to be hard sometimes, but at the end, it’s going to be worth it.”
Ashai Japanese Cuisine opens at 11 a.m. daily and is located at 1693 S Main St, Laurinburg.