Shiro of Japan to auction restaurant contents after closing in Carle Place
"Hibachi" is one of the items is one of the special items on the menu for Long Island Winter Restaurant Week, running from Jan. 22-29, 2017. Here, Hung Nguyn, of Shiro of Japan in Carle Place, cooks a hibachi meal for dinner patrons. Credit: Chris Ware
Patrons of the recently closed Shiro of Japan hibachi restaurant can soon bring a piece of the Carle Place institution home.
Managing partner Peter Faccibenne said the restaurant is auctioning off hundreds of its plates, Japanese steak knives, teapots, sushi bars, hibachi tables and chairs.
The 15,000-square-foot restaurant on Old Country Road, which announced its closure after 50 years, served its last meals Saturday night.
“We have 50 years of history,” Faccibenne said. “The outpouring of devotion to us is so touching and meaningful. I never realized what Shiro meant to everyone."
The restaurant will open for live browsing Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. before the online auction begins at 7 p.m. Thursday. Items must be picked up on Friday.
In addition to industrial equipment from two fully stocked kitchens, Faccibenne said he and his business partners, chef Hiro Ishikawa, imported the majority of their collection from Japan.
Shiro-branded dishes will be sold along with chopstick pillows, soy sauce dishes and more than 100 Japanese teapots.
The restaurant estimates the restaurant has served more than 3 million customers since it opened in1972 as Long Island’s first authentic and traditional Japanese steakhouse. Officials said it was one of the first restaurants to introduce sushi to Long Island, along with hibachi chefs performing dinner shows with knife skills and flaming grills.
During its final hours Saturday night, patrons were chanting “Shiro! Shiro!” followed by hugs and tears as they bade farewell to the restaurant.
“It was an emotionally bittersweet night,” Faccibene said. “It was so wonderful and everyone was hoping we would reopen. We were talking about memories and could not ask for a better ending for our restaurant.”
The owners of the business chose not to renew their lease and have not announced plans to relocate.
“We’re talking with people. There might be something in the future,” Faccibene said. “I’m not gonna say it’s going to happen, but there’s promise about us reopening.”
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
