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The owners of Akai Lounge, which has locations in Englewood, Westfield and Westchester County, NY, have purchased the Blue Moon Café, a Mexican restaurant that has been an institution in Englewood for 27 years.
James Du and Lillian Pien, who purchased Blue Moon, plan on keeping the restaurant open, while also combining it with Akai Lounge, creating two restaurants in one, with one room serving Japanese food and the other serving Mexican food.
While Blue Moon remains open, the Akai Lounge section will open in the summer. The Englewood Akai Lounge on Dean Street will close to make way for the new location.
"They will be two distinctly different restaurants," Pien said. "At Blue Moon, we will be serving the menu people have loved for years. It's all still here."
Pien said they have felt the need to expand their Englewood location, since they didn't have access to outdoor dining.
"We always wanted to be on East Palisade Avenue," Pien said. "This was an opportunity for us to move around the corner."
With so many restaurants closing in Englewood, Du said he felt it was important to keep Blue Moon alive, including retaining its chef.
"It's a staple of Englewood," Du said. "Everyone knows about Blue Moon. I go and eat there all the time."
Du said he is really excited to debut the Japanese/Mexican concept to diners in New Jersey. Ideas include sushi samba or tuna guacamole. Du said they plan on having a chef come around and make guacamole right at the table.
"And if you want to add tuna or yellowtail, you could do that," Du said. "I can't wait."
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