Sozai, an award-winning restaurant in Clawson that put both sustainable sushi and omakase dining on the map in metro Detroit closed after less than five years of operations.
Chef-owner Hajime Sato announced the news in an Instagram post Sunday night. Sato said he, along with family, will be returning to the Pacific Northwest. The restaurant’s last night of service was Saturday, April 26.
After opening in 2021, Sozai achieved numerous accolades and praise from national publications — including being named one of Bon Appetit’s best new restaurants of 2022. Last year, Sato took home a 2024 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, making him the first Michigan chef to win a Best Chef award since 2011.
Hour Detroit was unable to reach Sato for comment before publication, but we will update the story if he responds. His statement on Instagram reads:
“After an extended time of reflection, it is clear that the best thing for my family is for us to return to the Pacific Northwest. It will be extremely difficult to leave Sozai behind. I put everything I had into building something special for my customers and to further my work as a sustainable seafood advocate. Thank you to everyone who has shared wonderful times with me at Sozai. I will cherish those memories. My sincerest hope is that you will continue to try new things!”
The Pacific Northwest, Seattle in particular, is where Sato made his name as a chef. After attending college there and working in several kitchens, he founded a restaurant called Mashiko in 1994, where he first implemented the sustainable sushi bar model. Mashiko is still operating to this day, but he sold it to former employees in 2019, the same year he and his wife moved to Michigan for her cancer treatment.
A statement on the restaurant’s website reads “We invite you to follow Hajime’s ongoing adventures on Instagram and Facebook.”
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