New places

The day back from vacation is always about playing catch-up.

Not sure if you saw my story last week that Takumi Fine Japanese Restaurant is taking over the spot formerly occupied by Utage Authentic Japanese Cuisine.

The Oka family, owners of Utage Authentic Japanese Cuisine, closed the 22-year-old eatery in Independence Mall shopping center off U.S. 202 in Brandywine Hundred on Aug. 30.

But Hideyuki Okubo, who has worked as a sushi chef at Utage for more than 10 years, says he and his wife Jessie Okubo and Jessie's sister plan to open Takumi, another Japanese eatery, at the same site.

The chef says he expects to begin slicing sashimi again there by Sept. 15. (Call 658-8887 or 658-8881 for more information.)

Hideyuki Okubo, a graduate of the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan, has worked as a chef in five-star hotels in Tokyo and Kobe.

The Okubos are planning many interior updates, as well as adding a Pagoda terrace, but will keep the eatery opened during the renovations.

Independence Mall owner Roseanna Richards says that Wilmington-based Mitchell Associates will be working on the design.

"We are so excited about their plans to renovate. They are going to reinvest into the business," Richards says.

"We're going to make the restaurant very beautiful," says Jessie Okubo, adding that most of the same staff from Utage will remain at Takumi.

While the food at Utage has often received kudos, detractors haven't been nearly so kind about the interior.

According to the 2008 Zagat Philadelphia Restaurants Survey, the burgundy "bible" guidebook that also includes some New Castle County restaurants, customers have said Utage's setting was "bland enough to make the supermarket more fun."

Richards says the renovations at Takumi are just some of the current updates taking place at Independence Mall, which was built by her father. The Blue Ballroom, a new dance studio, was recently renovated, and plans are under way for a Malaysian restaurant and possibly an Italian wine bar.

Richards says the shrubs and signage at the shopping center are all new, and cobblestones were imported from Europe.

"I want this to become a boutique mall," she says.

Chihiro Oka, whose father Yuichiro opened Utage restaurant, Delaware's first sushi bar in 1986, said he had hoped to revamp and renovate Utage but couldn't come to an agreement on the lease.

Chihiro Oka said he hopes to find a new location for Utage in the next six months to a year.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Mile High Steak and Seafood is a new restaurant in the Cross Roads Shopping Center, just beyond the intersection of Baltimore Pike and U.S. 202 in Glen Mills, Pa.

Executive chef Don Sanders has designed menus at the restaurant (with a 100-seat dining and bar area) to reflect the season. He also has a selection of USDA prime and certified Black Angus steaks and seafood.

Sanders, of Wilmington, is a graduate of the Le Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Md. He has most recently worked at the Kennett Square (Pa.) Golf and Country Club and Philadelphia's Pyramid Club. Executive sous chef Monte Davis of Havertown, Pa., has more than 20 years' experience in the culinary arts, most recently at the Philadelphia Country Club.

Visit www.milehigh steakandseafood.com or call (610) 361-0855 for reservations. Dinner is served from 5-10 p.m., Monday through Saturday.