It will never open on time because the RETARDS at the building department (RAZZOLI and crew including Brian what ever his name is) will fail them or just take their time getting to the inspections. The building department is a completely disfunction bunch of yahoos. It needs to be dismantled so Jersey City can bring in new retail and restaurants with out issue!

Abbondanza Trattoria at 257 - 259 Grand St at Liberty Harbor has also taken almost 2 years to open. They expect to be open before the end of the summer, unless the city screws them up again.

Dean Giebel announced that Sawa will begin construction in a few weeks.

Does anybody think that Sawa will ever open? Anybody have any info whatsoever?

I think it might be dead in the water.

I remember one night while having dinner at the former Hamilton Park Ale House there was some douche bragging about what a hard time they were giving some new restaurant that was trying to open near Exchange Place. I'm not sure what City Dept. the guy was from and I couldn't hear every detail but he was cackling away with that Fabio guy. He was also trying to get a free meal from Fabio! This was about a year or so ago.

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Yes, Five Guys opened very quickly but Muscle Maker took the better part of a year. The hibachi place (Teppan) in 50 Columbus looks to be moving along quickly now after more than a year of stop and start work.

I hear you on that.... research the Atomic Wings thread Tommy... or any other business/restaurant that's tried to get open here in the past few years. The real question is how Muscle Maker and Five Guys happened so relatively quickly. (Hunch... maybe since they took over existing restaurants vs "building from scratch" in spaces that weren't restaurants or were raw, they ran into code and building dept issues?) Skinners was like this too... took FOREVER.

I'm definitely not losing my mind over it, but it is a big space, and it'd be nice to have a decent restaurant/nightlife option near the marina. And just from pure curiosity, I'd like to know how in the world it takes more than 2 years to open.

the two open ones are in Monmouth County are near my current home... one is in a converted Sizzler, and their local billboards advertise 2 for 1 nights and other gimmicks. It's really just a hibachi place, nothing to lose your mind over... standard fare.

It's kind of like when Wild Fusion opened and you thought we were getting a new, different, interesting concept.. and it turned out to be a Chinese restaurant, nothing more.

More than two years later (!!!) ... what is the deal? Any updates on Sawa? Does anybody have any idea what would take over 2 years to open?

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So that would just be "fine dining and takeout" then.

Robin.

No, but the south east corner of Gulls Cove has some signage already. Still looks like they have some work to do.

Does anyone know when this is opening?

Eatery Signs Lease at Gull?s Cove
By Eric Peterson

Gull?s Cove

JERSEY CITY-Sawa Steakhouse & Sushi Bar has signed a lease for 3,800 sf at Gull?s Cove, Metro Homes? new mixed-use project here. The location will be the third for the Eatontown-based Sawa, which has eateries there and at Pier Village in Long Branch. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

?Jersey City is an up-and-coming place to be,? says Anne Wagar, Sawa?s managing partner. ?Gull?s Cover lends itself to fine dining and take-out for singles, couples and families.?

Sawa Steakhouse & Sushi Bar will open as part of the first phase of Gull?s Cover, located in this city?s Downtown area at 205 Luis Munoz Marin Blvd., overlooking Liberty Harbor and Lower Manhattan. Phase one will include a 16-story condo tower of 321 residences, and Gull?s Cove will build out to a total of 432 residences and 30,000 sf of ground-floor retail space. Gull?s Cove itself is part of the larger 80-acre Liberty Harbor North Redevelopment District.

?Sawa is a good fit for Gull?s Cove,? says Dean Geibel, managing partner of the Hoboken-based Metro Homes. ?It will attract an upscale customer base and will provide another amenity for our residents.?

http://www.sawasteakhouse.com/