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Business & Tech

Enjoy an Adult Date Night at Flirt Sushi Lounge

Allendale lounge offers unique menu.

Flirt Sushi Lounge of Allendale is a place for you to relax and enjoy a night out away from the children—and hopefully ignite the passion that lays dormant as you run around in “mom mode.”  

This lounge is the brainchild of Mahwah resident Marko Radisic, who launched the business in 2002 after years of eating sushi and realizing the atmosphere was never exactly as he hoped.

“I always found that the area had very good sushi but lacked places that had any atmosphere," Marko said. "When I moved here, there was a big movement of young parents from big cities, feeling the same way. When my wife, Maria and I would go out, we’d order and everything would come out at once. We’d finish in a half hour and Maria would ask where are we going next because she wasn’t going home forty five minutes after the babysitter arrived. This was her night out.”

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Marko also noticed a direct correlation between sushi and passion.

“Whenever my wife would say, 'honey I’m in the mood for sushi,' I knew that she was in a romantic mood," Marko said. "When women go out and have steak and pasta, they don’t feel good about themselves. Flirt in a way, is a romantic getaway for women. When you take your significant other to Flirt, the dinner, atmosphere, the lighting becomes the part of the romance. The fact that you’re eating healthy sushi and it’s not directly in front of you but in the middle of the table, also helps a woman feel good about herself. You don’t realize how much you are eating because everything is coming from the middle of the table. I set up Flirt Sushi as tapas style, which is reminiscent of my European upbringing.”

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Marko was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, which is modern day Serbia. His fathers’ career as a professional soccer coach gave Marko the opportunity to live in Spain, Portugal and Kuwait before coming to America.

One hobby he picked up in Europe was racecar driving which is still his passion today.

“Living in Spain and Portugal, I raced at go-kart tracks," he said. "Then I moved on to rally driving and road course driving in Europe. When I moved to the states in 1997, I started working at some driving education schools and then coaching and racing. It’s a hobby. I don’t golf, so racing is my hobby.”

Marko’s other passion is maintaining the quality and ambiance at Flirt Sushi Lounge, which he calls a “trendy neighborhood restaurant” and is thankful to his customers that spend two or three nights a week there.

“Whether dining in, taking out or delivery, I’m flattered that we have loyal customers, knowing we are not an inexpensive night out," Marko said. "Because the atmosphere at Flirt Sushi invokes passion between two people, we are a night out instead of just a dinner. People stay anywhere from two  to four hours and hopefully after Flirt they go home and continue the passion that began here.”

Marko learned one interesting fact about women, from his many years of owning bars and lounges in Europe.

“No matter where you are, there’s one true thing that counts for every woman in every country and that’s women have a very small window of opportunity," he said. "Going out close to home is a safer bet that the passion will still be there when you get home.”

 He continues his theory about women.

“Women are always moms first. It’s hard to get them out of that mode, so when they’re close to home, they feel like they’re better moms because if they have to run home, they can," Marko said. "They are more comfortable enjoying an evening out and can put their guard down, stay in a more passionate Flirt mood longer, because they aren’t worried about being far from the kids.”

Marko has one goal for Flirt Sushi.

“I want it to be all about the escape for women," he said. "I don’t want our customers to have to go far to have a date night where there’s no kids. I want them to stay local and enjoy a glass or two of wine and then go home and have a good time."

Flirt Sushi is open seven days a week .

Lunch Monday through Friday until 2:30p.m. Dinner every night at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday dinner only starting at 5:30 p.m.

Flirt Sushi is located at 140 W. Allendale Ave. Allendale, N.J.

Phone: 1-866-we-flirt.

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