Malin Eriksson Stenlund and Josefin Engzell, who live in Kåge, bought sushi at the new restaurant on Friday.
When Norran visits Shehan Dilusha at his newly opened restaurant, he has only been operating for one day. However, the people of Kåge have already found their way there – and the interview is conducted standing as Shehan prepares sushi for hungry customers.
When the phone rings, Shehan answers with, "Hello and welcome to Sushi and Asian Hub Byske," but quickly corrects himself.
– I mean Kåge, he says with a smile.
His slip-up is understandable. For the past few months, he has also been running a business in Byske.
– But there I don't have a restaurant, just a take-away.
Shehan Dilusha runs Sushi and Asian Hub, which recently opened in Kåge. He also has a business in Byske, but it is take-away only.
Two of the customers who come in during Norran's visit are Malin Eriksson Stenlund and Josefin Engzell. They are happy that a sushi restaurant has opened in the community and that something has been done with the building that, until last year, had been falling into disrepair.
– It had looked so abandoned and sad, says Malin, who lives right next door.
Norran has previously reported on the trio who took it upon themselves to restore the building: Patrik Eriksson, Petra Eriksson, and Ashkan Chehrehnegar.
– It’s been an eyesore in the village. We thought someone had to do something about it, Eriksson said last summer.
The "green house" stood vacant and deteriorating in central Kåge for a long time, but it has now been renovated. Last Thursday, Shehan Dilusha opened his restaurant on the ground floor.
The "green house" stood vacant and deteriorating in central Kåge for a long time, but it has now been renovated. Last Thursday, Shehan Dilusha opened his restaurant on the ground floor.
It was only five months ago that it was decided Shehan Dilusha would rent the space. He had previously operated a food truck in Kåge but had been searching for a location for a permanent restaurant.
– It doesn’t work well to make sushi in a food truck during the winter, so I’ve been looking for premises in central Skellefteå and other towns, he explains while placing raw salmon slices over rice.
When he saw that "the green house" was being renovated, he contacted the owners.
– I told them what I needed, and they arranged the permits with the municipality. Then they’ve been renovating the space up until now, says Shehan, who had previously worked at a sushi restaurant in Umeå before moving to Skellefteå to work at Northvolt in May 2023.
He also wants to thank his wife, Menali Hasini, who has been instrumental in making the restaurant possible.
– She’s done a lot of work behind the scenes, like handling the contact with the municipality, the bookkeeping firm, and things like that, he says.
Currently, only sushi is served at the restaurant, but the plan is to expand the menu.
Shehan Dilusha ran a food truck selling sushi in Kåge last summer. Now, he has opened a restaurant.
The new restaurant currently serves sushi, but the plan is to expand the menu with warm dishes – as well as specialties from Sri Lanka, the country where Shehan grew up.
Shehan is happy to be up and running.
– I feel so proud to have my own restaurant. I feel free, he says.