School Sushi to open in former Shorty’s spot in March

School Sushi, a popular Japanese restaurant that used to be on Old Todds Road, is back, this time in the former Shorty’s Market & Tap Room space at 163 West Short Street.

Chef Tomoka Ito plans to reopen March 1 with a new School Sushi, featuring traditional Japanese specialties made from scratch. The name is a playful nod to a school of fish, she said.

Ito had been looking for a new spot since School Sushi closed in December 2015, she said Wednesday.

“Finally we got a great location,” she said. “We were looking for downtown, with all the activities in that area, such as Thursday Night Live in the summer.”

The menu will be much the same as the former restaurant, she said, but she won’t have a conveyor belt to deliver sushi. She will have a spot again for karaoke — in the former bank vault space, which also will be available for private dining.

Ito said she plans to be open for lunch and dinner and will have a full bar.

The spot is in one of Lexington’s hottest dining districts, near Dudley’s on Short, Parlay Social, Table Three Ten, Cheapside Bar & Grill, Belle’s Cocktail House, Lexington Diner, Centro, 21c’s Lockbox and, coming after the first of the year, Corta Lima. Once the renovated old courthouse is open in 2018, chef Ouita Michel plans open a second Windy Corner Market inside, too.

The new School Sushi interior will be designed by Pohl Rosa Pohl; the lease was brokered by Block + Lot, representing Logan, and the Gibson Co., which listed the former Shorty’s space.

Shorty’s closed in June after opening first as an urban grocery in a remodeled bank in May 2011.

This story was originally published November 30, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "School Sushi to open in former Shorty’s spot in March."