SAUGUS — Lendy’s New York Style Deli closed its doors on March 21, 2024, after almost 40 years in Saugus. Since then, the building has sat boarded up, waiting for its next occupant. Now, a Japanese chain, Tori Japan, will be taking its place.
This will be a major switch-up from Lendy’s Reuben sandwiches and brisket platters. Tori Japan will offer bento boxes, various sushi dishes, and more.
The incoming chain has seven locations throughout Massachusetts. It also has two restaurants in New Jersey and one in Rhode Island.
The restaurant has already received permission from the Zoning Board of Appeals for a new sign to be lit up. They were also supposed to be at a Board of Selectmen meeting on Jan 21. for a common victualer’s and entertainment licenses, but they did not make an appearance.
Yet at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting, it was mentioned that there is a tentative opening date in February. If so, this will be the month of new businesses opening their doors in Saugus, with Raising Cane’s and Nothing Bundt Cakes also looking to open in February.
With residents now aware of the changing of the guard, there were plenty of reactions occurring online.
One user wrote, “I moved up here a few years ago from the south shore and found Lendy’s, and it quickly became my go-to. I loved the poster on the wall by the register that listed all of the employees and how long they’d been there. That struck me as pretty amazing…It showed me the people that owned/ran it treated their employees well. You don’t see that anymore. I may have shed a tear when they closed. Not for me really…but for the people that worked there.”
Other users made jokes of it being another fried chicken place, joining the abundance of chicken restaurants overpopulating Route 1. This was quickly shut down it was shared that it would be Tori Japan moving in. Others wished the new restaurant good luck while also mentioning how much they’ll still miss Lendy’s.
As of late, the Saugus area has been a battleground for restaurants with many stalwarts like Lendy’s, the 99 Restaurant, and the Continental closing their doors. However, Tori Japan could stay the course and see many years in Saugus, just like Lendy’s did.
