Bali-born restaurateur Lalu Dedi Sutanto will expand his footprint in Maine later this month when he opens a Japanese hibachi steakhouse in Newport.
Sutanto is still nailing down a launch date, but he plans to open Crazy Sumo 2 by the end of January. He and a new business partner renovated the building at 6 Main St. in Palmyra to give it the look and feel of a hibachi restaurant, which features seven grills and a sushi bar.
He was one of three co-owners of Crazy Sumo in Ellsworth, but Sutanto parted ways with the others and decided to venture out on a new project. He also opened a food truck, Ninja Japanese Express, at 757 Stillwater Ave. in Old Town last year.
Sutanto, who moved from the island of Bali in Indonesia to the United States in 2002, has worked as a chef at restaurants across the country, focused primarily on Japanese dishes. When he came to Maine in 2021, he was eager to share his love for the cuisine, including with those in and around Newport. He hopes area residents embrace the new restaurant, particularly its extensive selection of sushi rolls made with fresh seafood that Sutanto picks up in Lamoine, he said.
“It’s a good location because it’s a hub,” he said. “There are a lot of folks around Newport who want to enjoy Japanese cuisine and shouldn’t have to go to Bangor and Waterville to do that.”
Sutanto, whose great-great-great grandfather was from Kobe, Japan, is eager to infuse the Newport area with some of his culture. He even recruited a few chefs from outside the state to work in his kitchen, he said.
Before moving to Maine, he worked in Chicago, where Sutanto made many connections in the restaurant industry.
The building was formerly home to Scotty’s and Pando, according to meeting minutes from the Newport Select Board. The board approved a liquor license for the business late last year.
Crazy Sumo 2 will be open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekends. Sutanto and his team are preparing the space to open, and they will soon launch a website, he said.