The city issued a permit Jan. 7 for renovation of the former Red Lobster restaurant in River City Marketplace for Fushimi Grill & Modern Buffet.
Greenlogic LLC is the contractor for the $99,000 project to update the interior of the 7,150-square-foot restaurant at 13090 City Station Drive in North Jacksonville.
Fushimi Buffet LLC filed a notice of commencement Oct. 29 with the Duval County Clerk of Court.
The restaurant will seat 192 people.
Fushimi is a multicuisine buffet with more than 200 items daily, according to its website. Its menu features hibachi, sushi, sashimi, Chinese, Korean and American fare. There is also a dessert bar.
It also has a restaurant in Girvin Plaza at 12777 Atlantic Blvd. The website says the River City Marketplace restaurant is coming soon.
The River City Marketplace building is owned by Mark J. Freitag Trust of 1988 of Durango, Colorado. The building was developed in 2008 on 1.34 acres.
Manager Mandy Yang said in October it is the second location for Fushimi and the first opened a year and a half before.
Two more former Red Lobster restaurants are in permit review for conversion into Asian restaurants.
The city also is reviewing permit applications for Mikata Buffet in Baymeadows and Gogi Korean BBQ in the Regency area.
The Red Lobster chain closed more than 80 restaurants, including three in Jacksonville, in May and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Red Lobster announced Sept. 16 it was exiting Chapter 11 under the ownership of RL Investor Holdings LLC, part of Fortress Investment Group.
The remaining Red Lobster in operation in Northeast Florida is at 32 Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park.