It's springtime in Tempe, so to speak.
The restaurant scene in ASU's neck of the woods felt pretty dead there for awhile, with too many closings and not much in the way of novelty. Now, with the fall semester already looming (I still can't get used to the idea of "back to school" when it's this hot!), new restaurants are suddenly cropping up.
By the end of next week, look for a new sushi place to give Ra a run for its money: Kanpai Sushi & Bar.
Owner Yong Jae Kim tells me the spot at Mill Avenue and 7th Street will be open daily, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (and bar service until 1 a.m.), serving a full menu of Japanese cooked dishes as well as sushi, including a variety of specialty rolls.
A daily happy hour, from 3 to 7 p.m., will feature $2 beers and discounted sushi rolls, and there will also be a reverse happy house from 9 p.m. to midnight, Thursday through Saturday.