Mark Sohn brought a taste of Chicago to Bowling Green with his first restaurant, Big Al’s Chicago-Style on U.S. 31-W By-Pass, but for his newest restaurant, he went back to his Japanese roots.

“I’ve always done Japanese from the get-go, but I’m from Chicago, so I wanted to started a Chicago-style restaurant,” he said of Big Al’s, which continues to operate. “But (Japanese) is what I’m experienced in.”

Sohn and his business partner Trae Hill opened Katana Japanese Express, 164 Iron Skillet Court, last week.

“We opened without telling anyone,” Sohn said. “The schools are on spring break this week, so we wanted to open it this week and get all the kinks out.”

The co-owners thought Katana would be a good addition to the area because “there’s not a whole lot to choose from on this side of 65, but there’s a lot of residential (homes),” Hill said. “So we just kind of came up with the idea of a Japanese fast casual restaurant.” 

“Everything is moving toward fast casual,” he said. “People who like that type of cuisine, but they don’t want to go to a full sit-down restaurant. People are busy. Everybody wants things quicker and faster.”

Katana offers traditional Japanese dishes for dine-in, drive-through or delivery within a 2-mile radius.

“Not everyone wants to sit behind a Hibachi grill,” Sohn said. “Everybody’s rush rush.”

To bless the opening of Katana, Sohn asked the Rev. Megan Huston, pastor of his church, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), to pray at the restaurant Wednesday night.

“I always think it’s very important to have a local pastor bless it, especially my pastor,” Sohn said. “Both of us are spiritual people.”

Huston prayed with Sohn, Hill and their families inside Katana on Wednesday, asking God to bless the restaurant.     

“They’re wonderful community members and I want to support their business, just like they’ve supported the church and community,” Huston said.

This was the first time she’s been asked to bless a business. 

“It’s really exciting to see people want to apply their faith to their everyday life,” she said. “What I love about the Sohns is they’re the same people every day. Their business is important to them and their faith is important to them, so it’s great to see that intersect. Each of us should invite God’s blessing on our everyday lives.”