Coming soon: 'International fusion' restaurant in former Ann Arbor Chi-Chi's on South State

The partners behind the new concept say they're close to setting an opening date.

An early look at the menu shows that the concept will be built around dishes that they call “international fusion,” including sushi, food influenced by Korean, Italian, Chinese and Spanish cuisines, a full bar and a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

The building - located at 3776 S. State in Pittsfield Township - most recently housed the Cherry Blossom Restaurant, but before that was a long-time Chi-Chi’s until that chain closed in 2004.

The owners of the Novi-based Cherry Blossom bought the restaurant in May 2005 for $1.4 million and opened their second Japanese-themed restaurant there. After the restaurant closed, it was sold to A&Z Investments of Ann Arbor, registered to Androulla and Zakhour Youssef.

Zakhour Youssef told AnnArbor.com in fall 2009 that the 10,300-square-foot space would become an upscale and elegant restaurant with room for 270 customers.

Androulla Youssef said last week said Suzanne Wu will be the managing partner of Passport, referring questions to her. She and C.J. Johnson, operations director, are finalizing details for the restaurant.

The Passport team has been onsite daily for at least the last week as they work toward an opening date. Hiring has been under way, and the work continues on interior finishes.

Wu said she hopes to roll out details of the restaurant - including description of the menu - when she can announce a firm opening date.

The building, sitting on 4 acres, is about ¼-mile south of the I-94 intersection. It’s south of a shared drive with a recently updated McDonald’s Restaurant, and it’s also about ¼ mile from the location of the new Costco proposed for Pittsfield Township near State and Ellsworth.

Paula Gardner is Business News Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her at 734-623-2586 or by email. Sign up for the weekly Business Review newsletter, distributed every Thursday, here.