Two Asian food plans face each other across Grand River Avenue just east of Novi Road. On the north side is Sakura Novi. It opened its first business in late August 2025, and by this fall it has a Korean steakhouse, a wagyu shabu house, a Japanese grill, a bakery café, a boba shop, a 12,000-square-foot variety store and a public garden around a pond. On the south side is the One World Market building at 42705 Grand River. The city first approved its plan in September 2022: a bigger grocery, a food hall built around Noble Fish Sushi and White Wolf Japanese Patisserie, and an izakaya bar. In May the owner asked for more time because construction isn't ready to start.
That split shapes where anything new on this stretch will open through at least next summer. Every opening since August 2025 has been at Sakura. Nothing has been built on the Noble Village side, and its next deadline is June 15, 2027.
Fourteen Months, One Side of the Street
Sakura Novi took years to get going. In 2018 the city approved selling the 10-acre parcel, once home to a vacant car wash, to Sakura Novi, LLC for $3.5 million, as Hour Detroit recounted. The development cost about $55 million to build. Once the doors started opening, they opened quickly:
- August 2025: Klawsome!, an arcade at 42768 Grand River Ave., Suite C-140, opened as Sakura Novi's first business, according to Hometown Life.
- October 8, 2025: Paris Baguette soft-opened at 42768 Grand River. Its grand opening on October 23 shared the day with the Sakura Gardens dedication.
- November 6, 2025: Chubby Cattle Wagyu Shabu House opened its first Michigan location.
- May 2026: TESO Life, a 12,000-square-foot Japanese and Asian-themed variety store at 42688 Grand River, opened its first Michigan store.
- June 2026: The Dancing Pine, an upscale Korean steakhouse from the owner of Kimchi Box, opened quietly and moved from soft opening to full service.
- By July 2026: Cloud Boba and Book Off had joined the roster.
- Late summer 2026: Sumo Japanese Grill opened at 42658 Grand River Ave., Suite 150, and DBusiness reported it open on September 2.
In July, Sakura Novi owner Scott Aikens summed up that run of openings in a news release that Metro Times quoted: "With the recent series of openings, including The Dancing Pine, Cloud Boba, Teso Life, and Book Off, our vision to bring to the region an immersive entertainment experience is alive."
What the Sakura Side Covers on a Given Night
Taken together, the tenants cover very different occasions, from a bakery café to a caviar service.
| Stop | What it is | Address | Detail worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paris Baguette | Bakery café | 42768 Grand River Ave. | Opened October 2025 |
| Sumo Japanese Grill | Japanese grill | 42658 Grand River Ave., Suite 150 | Open daily for lunch, with an earlier close on Sundays, per DBusiness in September |
| Chubby Cattle Wagyu Shabu House | Wagyu hot pot | 42768 Grand River Ave. | First Michigan location |
| The Dancing Pine | Korean steakhouse | 42738 Grand River Ave., Suite 100 | Tableside grilling; dinner only, Tuesday through Sunday, 4 to 10 p.m., as of July |
| Cloud Boba | Boba | Sakura Novi | Open as of July 2026 |
| TESO Life | Variety store | 42688 Grand River Ave. | 12,000 square feet |
| Klawsome! | Arcade | 42768 Grand River Ave., Suite C-140 | The development's first tenant |
The hours split matters if you're planning around kids or a workday. Sumo is the daytime option, open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, as DBusiness listed them in September. The Dancing Pine doesn't open until 4 p.m. and is closed Mondays. Metro Times described a menu of Japanese, Australian and American wagyu, oysters, house-made banchan and caviar, plus private dining rooms. That makes it the one on this stretch for an anniversary dinner, not a weeknight. Check posted hours before you go, since new restaurants often change them in their first year.
Klarnz Skincare is listed as a planned tenant, with no opening date announced.
The Free Part Is the Garden
Sakura Gardens doesn't cost anything. It was dedicated on October 23, 2025, and Hour Detroit described a pond with a winding path, mature cherry trees and a planned playground. Co-owner Phil Kim told the magazine it is open to the public. DBusiness's September description adds a Japanese-inspired garden patio, cherry blossom gardens, walking paths and a public plaza meant for community events. Sakura Novi's own site mentions a path around the water and a boulevard lined with cherry trees.
That makes a full loop possible without crossing Grand River: a pastry or boba, a walk around the pond, then lunch at Sumo or dinner at Chubby Cattle. The cherry trees put on their show in spring, but the path is there in any season.
The garden also changed at least one local official's mind. At the dedication, Mayor Justin Fischer told the crowd he had voted against some of the project's key approvals when he was on the council. "Sometimes leadership means being willing to admit when you were wrong, and I was wrong," he said, as Hour Detroit reported.
Across Grand River, the Plan Is Approved and Paused
The One World Market site covers 3.85 acres on the south side of Grand River, east of Novi Road. It includes the grocery and the former Library Pub space. The approved plan isn't a teardown. It calls for façade changes, new landscaping and just 2,170 square feet of additions. That's enough room for an expanded One World Market, a food hall anchored by Noble Fish Sushi and White Wolf Japanese Patisserie, an izakaya bar, and community meeting space on the second and third floors.
The approval timeline, from the city planning staff's May 7, 2026 memo, shows how long the plan has been ready on paper:
- September 28, 2022: The Planning Commission approves the preliminary site plan after a public hearing.
- December 2022: The final site plan is approved.
- June 15, 2023: The Final Stamping Set is approved. Under the zoning ordinance it is valid for two years.
- May 21, 2025: The first one-year extension is granted, running to June 15, 2026.
- May 13, 2026: The Planning Commission votes 6–0 to grant a second extension, running to June 15, 2027.
The memo gave the reason for the request:
"The applicant is requesting their second one-year extension of Final Site Plan approval until June 15, 2027, as they are not yet ready to commence construction on the development due to economic conditions."
The same memo says the ordinance allows up to three one-year extensions after the first two years, so one more extension is still available after next June. The city's development-projects page lists Noble Village's next step as a pre-construction meeting, and the project hasn't gotten there yet.
What That Means Until Next Summer
June 15, 2027 is when the approval runs out. It isn't an opening date. By that day the project either starts construction, uses its last extension, or lets the approval lapse. Until then, One World Market keeps operating in its current building, and the food hall, izakaya and expanded grocery remain approved plans with nothing built yet.
For the months ahead, the Sakura side is where new tenants are listed as planned. Noble Village's plan has been approved for four years, and the next real deadline is eight months away. The Asian grocery is still One World Market on the south side of Grand River. Anything restaurant-related that opened in the past year is on the north side, next to the pond.
The public plaza is meant for community events. Once Sakura posts a calendar, that's likely where the next reason to visit will appear. For now the pond path and the tenants listed above are what you'll find there.
If watching Grand River fill in has you wondering what that growth means for homes nearby, I'm glad to walk through it with you. Andrea Yakobe tracks projects like Sakura Novi and Noble Village closely. Schedule a quick market consultation or book a showing today.
