Bites Nearby: Sagano Hosts Fundraiser for Japan's Relief Effort

If you've been meaning to try Sagano Japanese Bistro & Steakhouse in Brighton, stop by Thursday and eat for a cause. The restaurant has pledged to donate 50 percent of its sales that day to the Japanese and American Red Cross organizations.

Proceeds from lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., and dinner, 5-9:30 p.m., will benefit the Japanese relief effort as well as local disaster assistance. The money will be split 50/50 between the American Red Cross Livingston County Chapter and the Japanese Red Cross.

According to Ghassan Saab, spokesman for Sagano, many employees at the restaurant have ties to Japan, including owner Shiro Ino.

"He has family living in Japan. The city where he grew up wasn't in the center of the devastation, and they are all safe and sound," Saab said. "But he has a close personal connection to the tragedy there."

Yet the restaurant didn't want to forget victims of disaster close to home.

"We decided to keep some of that money local to help people and families in need right here in our own area," Saab said.

According to Diane Serra, executive director of the Livingston County Red Cross, money raised on Thursday will support the Livingston County Disaster Fund, which offers assistance after house fires and other emergencies.

"Typically people come out of disasters without anything and they look to the Red Cross to provide for immediate needs in the community," Serra said.

The Red Cross will have its emergency response vehicle on-site at Sagano and will offer tours and information.

The Japanese Red Cross is providing medical assistance, blankets and other humanitarian care to tens of thousands of Japanese who have been devastated by earthquakes, a tsunami and evacuations occasioned by nuclear power crises.

Saab said Sagano hosted a similar fundraising effort on Monday at its original restaurant in Flint, which has been open for seven years.

"We’ve got a pretty good following as it is, and we had a heck of a good turnout," Saab said. "We’re hoping to do the same in Brighton, where nowhere near as many people know us."

Sagano, which opened about a year and a half ago in downtown Brighton, has 12 hibachi tables where skilled chefs entertain guests with dramatic meal preparation. The restaurant also offers an extensive menu of prepared foods and sushi, including a signature Brighton Roll.