The former Shari’s on Lancaster Drive is getting a new name, a new menu and a very different kind of dining crowd.
Sumo Sushi & Grill AYCE is taking over the former Shari’s Café & Pies building at 1270 Lancaster Drive SE, near Lancaster Marketplace, bringing an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant to one of east Salem’s busiest commercial corridors.
The Salem location has not been added to Sumo’s public locations page, and an opening date has not been announced. But the project is already showing signs of movement. State business registration data ties SUMO SALEM LLC to the Lancaster Drive address, and a current job listing for Sumo All You Can Eat Sushi – Salem, OR shows the restaurant hiring front-of-house workers for dine-in service.
The listing says the restaurant is hiring full-time and part-time workers to take orders, serve guests, use a point-of-sale system and process payments. Pay is listed at $15.55 to $20 per hour, plus tips.
For Salem diners, the bigger story is the return of restaurant life to a building many people already know. The former Shari’s sits near WinCo Foods, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Dollar Tree and other major retailers, in a corridor that draws steady traffic from Lancaster Drive, Highway 22 and nearby neighborhoods.
Commercial listing information described the site as a 4,319-square-foot freestanding restaurant building with 30 parking spaces, monument signage and access to Lancaster Marketplace. The building has been vacant since Shari’s closed its Oregon restaurants in 2024, leaving behind several familiar diner spaces across the state.
Sumo Sushi & Grill AYCE describes itself as an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant serving sushi, sashimi, hand rolls, teppanyaki, soup noodles, appetizers and other dishes. The company’s website lists locations in Washington and Oregon, including Oregon City and Portland.
The Salem move also fits a broader pattern for the chain. Sumo has expanded into former Shari’s buildings in other Northwest markets, including Oregon City and Portland’s Hayden Island area, where former diner spaces have been converted into all-you-can-eat sushi and grill restaurants.
Several details about the Salem restaurant have not yet been released, including hours, the final menu and the official opening date.
But for east Salem, the main point is simple: one of Lancaster Drive’s most visible vacant restaurant buildings is coming back. The former Shari’s is becoming Sumo Sushi & Grill AYCE, adding another all-you-can-eat sushi option to the city and giving a familiar corner a new reason to draw people in.