UPPER WEST SIDE — The Japanese restaurant Fusha West is leaving its Amsterdam Avenue home and reopening on West 82nd Street as a hibachi and sushi restaurant.
The eatery, which closed June 1, is relaunching with the hibachi concept — a Japanese cooking method in which chefs use small grills to cook in front of diners at their tables — in the space formerly occupied by Ditch Plains.
Fusha West will also change its name to Columbus Flame, said James Wang, a representative for the restaurant.
The idea was attractive to the restaurant's owners because of how few hibachi spots there are in Manhattan, he added.
Diners can also expect a full sushi menu, with operating hours each day between 11 and 12 a.m., just like at the former location, he said. Delivery will also be offered.
The hibachi concept requires the owners to add vents to each of the five tables planned for the space, just west of Columbus Avenue, Wang said.
The renovation process will take three to four months, after which Columbus Flame will open its doors, he added.
After eight years at its Amsterdam Avenue and West 75th Street location, Fusha West experienced a rent hike that made it untenable to stay, Wang said.
The to-go salad chain Sweetgreen is opening in the space vacated by Fusha West, but the eatery has not said when it will open.
Community Board 7's business and consumer issues committee approved the restaurant's liquor license application on Wednesday, though the restaurant still needs approval from the State Liquor Authority.
