Japanese Restaurant Adds Seating, Lounge and Patio

Meiji Japanese Cuisine, at Joyce Boulevard and Crossover Road in Fayetteville, has added seating capacity and other amenities with its recent expansion.

An enlarged dining room, new sake lounge and an outdoor patio have taken the restaurant from 1,500 SF to about 3,750, said co-owner and head sushi chef Darwin Beyer. The expansion is nearly complete and awaiting city inspection, he said.

The restaurant, which opened in June 2010, originally seated 44, Beyer said, but can now accommodate about 130 diners. To add to the Japanese ambience, the dining room will have two tatami tables for eight or 10 people with seating on traditional rice straw mats.

Meiji also has added staff, going from about 15 to about 23. Beyer said he expects that number to reach 25 in the near future.

The restaurant, which had served wine and beer, will now offer a full bar and add fresh oysters to the menu, along with more vegetarian and gluten-free items, Beyer said.

Noy Phoumivong, Meiji’s co-owner and consulting chef, was named last year to the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40. She’s also a corporate chef at Simmons Foods Inc. in Siloam Springs.