A memorial event has been announced for a Sarasota restaurateur who recently passed away unexpectedly at age 34, shortly after opening his latest labor of love.
Hanami Sushi Cocktails & Grill will hold a celebration of life for Samuel Ray on May 31, the restaurant said in a social media post.
Along with Jeffrey Karasawa and Jason Klamson, Ray co-owned Hanami in Sarasota’s Rosemary District, as well as Tsunami Sushi & Hibachi Grill in Lakewood Ranch and formerly in downtown Sarasota.
Ray died on April 25, only about two weeks after Hanami opened.
Already well-known in the Sarasota restaurant scene for Tsunami, Ray provided a public face for Hanami through video updates posted to social media during roughly a year’s worth of renovations to the century-old Citrus Exchange building at 1525 Fourth St.
The space has housed several restaurants over the years, also including Nancy’s Bar-B-Q, Oasis Restaurant & Bar, Catrinas Tacos & Tequila Bar, Salsas & Boogaloo, Servandos, and Darwin’s on 4th.
“Sam was a creative force, a dreamer, and someone who poured his heart into every space he touched,” Hanami’s post and an online memorial page read. “From Tsunami to Tsunami Lakewood Ranch, and most recently Hanami, Sam brought bold ideas to life with intention, care, and an incredible eye for detail. He built more than restaurants, he built places where people gathered, celebrated, and connected.
Those of us who had the privilege of knowing Sam will remember his vision, his energy, and the way he inspired everyone around him. A selfless and generous friend, a beloved son and brother, and a true legend in Sarasota. His passion for hospitality and his dedication to creating unforgettable experiences left a lasting mark on this community and on so many of us personally.”
How did the owners of Tsunami and Hanami first meet?
Karasawa met Ray in Texas, where Karasawa had moved from Tampa to help his uncle run a Kobe Japanese Steakhouse location and Ray was studying art at Texas State University. Ray came into the restaurant to celebrate his 21st birthday and started talking to Karasawa, leading Ray to begin working there, where he quickly earned attention.
“My uncle happened to just walk into the restaurant and sit at the bar and look at him,” Karasawa said. “My uncle just turned around and told me, ‘Jeffrey, this kid has a lot of potential, you have to keep him.’”
That continued as Ray took on more of a leadership position, including surprising Karasawa and his uncle with his woodwork as he remodeled the restaurant. While Karasawa’s uncle was looking at opening a restaurant in Tampa, Karasawa and Ray learned about Tsunami in Sarasota. With the uncle’s blessing and some money from him as well as their own savings, they bought half of Tsunami, taking over the restaurant fully in 2016.
Later, they decided to open a second Tsunami in Lakewood Ranch at 11627 State Road 70 E., which was initially intended to be an Irish 31 location that didn’t materialize. The Lakewood Ranch Tsunami opened in January 2024 after years of delays caused by factors such as hurricanes and injuries Ray sustained from an alligator attack. Despite that, Ray took an active part in adorning the restaurant.
“He sewed the curtains, he painted the mural, he finished the fish tank, he built the bar, he built the sushi bar with all the woodwork he knows how to do,” Karasawa said. “And most of the wood came from the wood he collected throughout the hurricane.”
It was during this time that Klamson teamed up with Karasawa and Ray, who had gotten a house in Polo Run while they worked on the Lakewood Ranch Tsunami. One day at the mailbox, Karasawa met Klamson, who also lived in the neighborhood.
Opening Hanami in Sarasota
Not long after Tsunami opened in Lakewood Ranch, the lease at the downtown Sarasota location was nearly up and the three had to decide whether to stay or move to a new space. The 1525 Fourth St. building was available for lease after its most recent tenant Nancy’s Bar-B-Q had departed, and Ray was interested in it.
“We said, ‘Sam, that’s a huge spot and that’s a building nobody can make work; do you think you can really make that thing work?’” Karasawa said. “He said, ‘I love the old building,’ because he’s kind of the young guy with the old soul. You can give him a piece of wood, he would tell you what kind of wood it is, he would tell you what kind of furniture it’s from, 18th century, 17th century.”
Hanami, which takes its name from the traditional Japanese celebration of cherry blossoms, features nods to its building’s past such as yellow in the front entrance recalling its Citrus Exchange history. While Hanami’s food menu is currently the same as Tsunami’s, which includes a variety of sushi rolls, hibachi grill dishes and other Asian entrées, it features a more extensive drink menu because of Hanami’s bar, which Karasawa called “Ray’s heart and soul.”
The restaurant currently offers lounge, bar, and main dining room seating, with an upstairs area and outdoor garden seating to be completed in the future, Klamson said. Karasawa and Klamson plan to keep operating Hanami, and Tsunami, to honor Ray’s legacy.
“It’s a hundred years old, and he always said he wanted to preserve it so that it could last another hundred years, so it both would’ve preceded all of us and outlasted all of us.” Klamson said. “So we’re going to do everything we can to make that possible.”
If you go
The celebration of life for Samuel Ray will take place noon-4 p.m. May 31 at Hanami Sushi Cocktails & Grill, 1525 Fourth St., Sarasota; 941-366-1033; hanamifl.com
Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at jimmy.geurts@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Memorial service announced for Sarasota restaurateur who died at 34
Reporting by Jimmy Geurts, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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