East Tokyo Shuts Its Doors, Blames Rent

, the Hibachi restaurant that has called the A&P Shopping Plaza home for 15 years, has packed away its knives for good, but not before taking one public swipe at its landlord.

The owners recently cleaned out the restaurant and posted a note on the door:

“We deeply regret to inform you that East Tokyo will no longer be operating indefinitely. Unfortunately, we were not able to come to terms with our current landlord [which] has forced us into this decision. We would like to thank the community, neighbors and customers for [your] support during the 15-year duration. We hope to better serve you in the future! God Bless.”

The owners still operate four other East Tokyo locations around the state, but were not available at any of their other restaurants for additional comment about the decision to shut down the Mahwah location.

Marcy Connor, a representative from A&P Headquarters, said “we do lease the entire shopping center," but said she could not comment on specifics regarding East Tokyo's closing.

Lew Finkelstein, a leasing agent for the complex with Goldstein Group Realtors, said “Due to A&P’s financial situation, they will probably not putting any money into [the former East Tokyo]. Any new tenant would have to pay for demolition if they don’t want to use the space as is.” The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, Inc., announced that it “successfully consummated its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a privately-held company,” on March 13. A&P filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December of 2010.

East Tokyo marks the fourth empty store inside the shopping center. Though he would not comment about the specific rent rates, Finkelstein said the vacancies in the complex are not uncommon. “There is not a particularly high turnover rate here,” he said.