iFly groundbreaking Tuesday in Overland Park; Blue Sushi Sake Grill opening in Westwood

iFly Indoor Skydiving will have a groundbreaking ceremony at 11 a.m. Oct. 6 for its new Overland Park location at 10995 Metcalf Ave.

The company hopes to open the 6,000-square-foot building, which will be 60 feet tall, by mid-December.

The company was founded in 1998 in Orlando, Fla., and now has 37 locations, including 11 in the U.S., and a history of more than 7 million flyers. It says anyone from ages 3 to 103 can feel the rush of freefall skydiving without the risk of jumping out of an airplane. Customers have a brief training session, then they are outfitted with a jumpsuit, helmet and goggles before entering a wind tunnel with their certified instructor.

First-time fliers will float on a column of air and learn basic flying skills, including moving forward and back and turning. On additional visits, customers can progress to group flying and even advanced aerial gymnastic maneuvers.

Other Johnson County updates

▪ Omaha’s Flagship Restaurant Group plans to open Blue Sushi Sake Grill in late spring 2016.

It will take a space in the new Woodside Village, near 47th Place and Rainbow Boulevard in Westwood. It will be the company’s ninth Blue Sushi location and its first restaurant in Kansas.

Blue Sushi serves dishes at the center of the table in a traditional Japanese style that is meant for sharing.

It has a large maki, sashimi and nigiri menu, as well as Asian-inspired cold and hot plates. Customer favorites include the River Rock Beef Tenderloin served over a plate of sizzling hot rocks, Shishito Peppers with the restaurant’s special sauce (a tangy mix of garlic, soy, butter and shichimi) and Yellowtail Serrano specialty sashimi.

Other menu items include mango crab Rangoons, edamame hummus, ceviche, vegetarian lettuce wraps, Sapporo steamed mussels, chicken satay, coconut crab soup, and seaweed salad, as well as entrees like shishito pepper filet, citrus salmon and crispy coconut chicken. Blue Sushi also has daily specials, a gluten-free menu and desserts like chocolate spring rolls and tempura fried ice cream.

The bar serves signature martinis, such as the Key Lime Pie (vanilla vodka, coconut puree, fresh lime juice and simple syrup with a graham cracker crust rim) and other craft cocktails.

Flagship has four Blue Sushi locations in Nebraska, two in Colorado and two in Texas, and plans another in Illinois that also is scheduled to open in 2016. Flagship also has several other concepts.

In a statement, Blair Tanner, developer of Woodside Village, said: “We always saw sushi as part of our desired tenant mix. … Blue is going to up the sushi game in Kansas City.”

Woodside Village is described as the new “town center” for Westwood. It will include a new restaurant by locally owned Bread & Butter Concepts, G. Berto Cucina. The 6,500-square-foot Italian restaurant plans to open in the center in late summer 2016, with Phase 1 of the development expected to open in the spring. Phase 1 calls for 91 luxury apartments and about 20,000 square feet of retail, including a coffee shop and another restaurant. A 2,400-square-foot space is still available.

▪ Downtown Overland Park’s Papa Keno’s Pizzeria is celebrating 20 years at 7901 Santa Fe Drive. It is offering daily specials through October, like $2.25 cheese slices on Tuesday. It also will offer a slice of pizza and a Free State beer for $6.99 every day and occasionally pass out freebies like T-shirts.

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 3:09 PM with the headline "iFly groundbreaking Tuesday in Overland Park; Blue Sushi Sake Grill opening in Westwood."