Longtime Kansas City restaurant closed during the pandemic. Now it is ready to return

Crossroads mainstay Nara quietly closed just over a year ago.

Now founder Casey Adams is planning its return but is looking for a different location.

Adams opened the Japanese restaurant in 2006, eventually spanning three levels and 12,000 square feet at 1617 Main St. (with an event space and storage).

Menu items included sushi rolls, Burmese chicken curry, Mongolian chicken, sashimi and pad thai.

But Adams decided to shut down in June 2020 instead of losing “a huge sum during the ups and downs of the pandemic,” when it couldn’t operate at full capacity.

Now he’s on the search for a 4,000-square-foot restaurant space where he could offer such amenities as tableside grilling. He’s looking at spots throughout the Kansas City metro and hopes to open by the end of the year.

“We have regulars who have been asking about us,” Adams said. “When we reopen we want to be someplace where the landlord, the area, the community wants us there. We’ve been an anchor before. We can be again.”