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Sakura Novi brings Asian-themed shops, cuisine to a growing population

Posted By: Detroit News on March 11, 2026.  For more information, please click here to read the source article.

Along a bustling stretch of Grand River Avenue sits a new housing and retail complex aimed at tapping into the immense spending power of Oakland County’s rapidly growing Asian American population.

Sakura Novi, Michigan’s first Asian-inspired mixed-use development, includes luxury townhomes, trendy eateries, shops, a two-acre pond, cherry blossom trees and walking paths on its 15 acres. Local leaders see the $50 million project as a vital “home away from home” for thousands of Japanese, Indian and South Asian residents who fuel global corporations like Toyota, Nissan and Denso.

City Manager Victor Cardenas said the development helps meet the demand for more Asian-inspired retailers and restaurants in Novi, which has the largest number Japanese and Asian American residents of any community in Michigan.

“This development was going to serve and cater to that population,” Cardenas said. “We’ve been the hub or unofficial home of the Japanese population here for Michigan, maybe even the Midwest.

“Our schools see a huge Japanese population, our hospitals cater to the Japanese population with respect to translators, so the Sakura development is building off that relationship and population that’s been here for many decades,” he said.

According to U.S. census data from 2024, Asian Americans make up 28.1% of Novi’s population, up from 15.9% in 2010. In that same time, the city’s population increased by just over 12,000. Oakland County has the state’s largest Asian American population, 128,391, according to the census data.

International appeal

Scott Aikens, developer and partner of the project, said the collection of shops and restaurants is intended to appeal to Asian Americans as well as others.

“It’s broadly international,” he said. “It happens to have Japanese and broadly Asian businesses, but it really embraces international community and is open to everyone in metropolitan Detroit.”

Aikens projects the development will generate $25 million in annual revenue. Within a 10-mile radius of Sakura Novi are more than 550,000 people with an average household income of $127,412 as of 2022, according to the developer.

The development, immediately east of Town Center Road between Grand River and 11 Mile, includes eight businesses: Dancing Pine Korean Steakhouse, Chubby Cattle Wagyu Shabu House, Paris Baguette bakery, TESO Life (Asian department store), Presotea (fresh‑brewed tea), Klawsome! (kawaii claw machine arcade), Book‑Off (Japan’s largest used books/media retailer) and Sumo Japanese Grill.

The developer said Sakura Novi is looking for at least four more businesses to fill the development: potentially a salon, a brunch cafe, fitness center, a ramen shop and sushi shop.

Klawesome! touts itself as the state’s first standalone claw machine arcade, or “clawcade,” built for a love of claw machines that owner Michal Filipowski and his family saw an ample amount of in Las Vegas.

“I talked to my wife and I’m like ‘Michigan needs one of these. Novi needs one of these,'” he said. “I’m originally from Novi, went to Novi High School. We lived in Asia for a while in Korea and played a bunch of these, so we’re so happy to bring this to the community.”

“This concept of a claw cave is very Asian-centric,” he said.

Jenny Lu, who identifies as Chinese American and has lived in Novi for a year, said she’s visited Chubby Cattle four times since it opened. She celebrated her birthday Friday at the restaurant and also stopped in at Paris Baguette and Book Off.

“We’ve heard about (Sakura Novi) for years because my parents live here,” said Lu, 37. “I had heard of Chubby Cattle before because it’s in Philly. My friend in Philly said it was good.” She called the new development fresh, exciting and convenient for Novi residents.

Kelly Kolk of Manistee brought her boyfriend Jungwoo Kin of Rochester Hills to Book Off Friday. They enjoyed the variety of CDs, books and DVDs.

“I really like it because where I’m from, you really have to go far out to find something anime-related or anything, so it’s really nice to come down here and be able to be endorsed by the things that I like and have a big selection when I’m not used to it,” Klok said.

The couple was on their way to Klawsome! but first checked out Book Off for anime-related merchandise. Kin, who identifies as Korean American, was impressed by how many Asian cultures the store addresses.

“I know a lot of stores that tend to delve into our culture, either delve into the figurines, maybe just the Japanese side, but it seems to cater to every type of audience,” he said. “Between the books, the manga, the video games, I think you have a little bit of everything for everybody.”

Berlinda Martinez, 21, of Grand Rapids drove to Novi on Friday to browse through CDs at Book Off: “I do like some of the anime and music they sell here, so I just wanted to come here to check those out.”

‘A huge win for us’

The residences have proved successful, too. The Residences at Sakura Novi are seeing high demand, with 131 three-story townhomes with two or three bedrooms.

“We’re hoping that all these residential developments will just breed more life into that area and give us a place for that main intersection of Grand River and Novi Road,” Cardenas said.

“You see some of these mixed-use developments and the residential is quick to fill up,” he said. “But the commercial side of things kind of lags behind, so I think having these commercial retail spots leased and open for business is a huge win for us, and it shows the vibrancy we have for the economy of our city.”

The property, originally owned by the city of Novi, came to life through a collaboration between Oakland County, the Consul General of Japan, Robert B. Aikens and Associates, and Robertson Brothers Homes, which allowed the city to have input into what the development would become.

The development complements The Japanese School of Detroit, a Saturday school two miles to the west that has been in the city for over five years.

Cardenas compared Novi’s new cultural hub to Frankenmuth, Detroit’s Mexicantown or Holland: “Those are these cultural centers in the state and hopefully this for us our ‘little Japan.’ It’s not really little Japan … but hopefully it’ll have that same kind of success as those other places do.”