Salem-area restaurant openings and updates: Raw Blendz Juice, Ye Sushi, Noble Wave

In Restaurant Roundup, Em Chan shares some local restaurants' latest updates. Have a question for Chan to look into? You can send her your inquiries at echan@gannett.com.

Ye Sushi

Ye Sushi is a new sushi restaurant in Stayton. The restaurant soft opened in March and is owned by John Ye.

The restaurant offers rolls, sashimi, nigiri, combination platters and bentos and other Japanese rice and noodles dishes. There is a sushi bar, table and booth seating. The cost is between $15-30 for a meal comprised of a mix of sushi options and an entrée. The menu is mainly "basic" items for now but will expand to include more specials, Ye said.

Ye previously opened Akira Sushi in Central Oregon. He said Stayton is a nice area and it took over a year before renovations were completed for the restaurant to open.

For more info on the sushi restaurant, check out the website, yesushior.com and Facebook page.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., daily

Address: 1760 N. First Ave., Stayton

Raw Blendz Juice

Raw Blendz Juice held its grand opening in south Salem on May 5. The cold-pressed juice and smoothie bowl business is owned by Alejandra Escobedo, who said she'd been eyeing the location since 2022.

A sister location for Raw Blendz Juice opened in Silverton in 2020 and Escobedo said customers had asked her about opening a location in Salem.

The new location is the former Benny's Donuts off of Royvonne Avenue SE. The light blue building was a space Escobedo had wanted but the timing wasn't right. That was until a customer who lived in the area told her the spot was open, and she went after it. Escobedo said the location is great as south Salem didn't have a juice or similar business in the area, and the building colors matched the aesthetic.

The business offers cold-pressed juice, immunity shots, lemonade, smoothie bowls, breakfast sandwiches, power smoothies and rice bowls. Many of the items are vegan friendly, dairy-free and gluten-free. There is also juice cleanses and bulk juices available to purchase. Folks can walk in or use the drive-thru.

For more info on Raw Blendz Juice, check out the website, rawblendzjuicery.com and Facebook page.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Saturday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday

Address: 1120 Royvonne Ave. SE

Noble Wave

Noble Wave is celebrating its fifth anniversary with Noble Fest, an afternoon of local live music on May 18.

Food and drink specials will run all day with expanded hours from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

The restaurant in previous years hosted an annual crawfish boil, but this year's season has not been great.

Owner Riley Vannoy said they have rented the parking spaces in front of the restaurant for a stage space. Performing artists include Robotic Torres, Cody Nash, Rich McCloud, Boundless Joy and City of Pieces.

"All these bands are our local favorites," Vannoy said. "Now we have an opportunity to let some of our friends play, which is great."

In addition to the performing artists, local artist Clover will be live painting. She will also have her artwork available for purchase.

Vannoy said in the five years Noble Wave has been open, they've made many changes as the restaurant navigated the pandemic. He said he feels good about the recent interior refresh and return to table service.

"We wanna show out for downtown as we're a big believer that a rising tide raises all ships," he said.

For more updates on Noble Fest, check out the Facebook page.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday to Thursday; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday

Address: 189 Liberty St. NE Suite #112

Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at echan@gannett.com and follow her on X @catchuptoemily.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem-area restaurant updates: Raw Blendz Juice, Ye Sushi