New poke bowl restaurant offering Hawaiian and Asian fusion cuisine to open in Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new restaurant focused on Hawaiian and Asian fusion cuisine centered around poke bowls is coming to the city’s east side.
Poke Green is preparing to open at 3053 N. Perryville Road. That’s in a strip center space that formerly housed 815 Cajun, which closed roughly a year ago after five years in business.
Poke, which is pronounced “poh-kay,” means “to slice or cut” in Hawaiian, and it typically contains sushi-grade quality tuna or other fish cut into chunks and served with rice and vegetables.
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Poke Green will have poke bowls and poke tacos, as well as boba teas and teriyaki.
“We also offer a full vegetarian menu,” said Yichu Yang, a native of China now living in Rockford and managing the restaurant’s design. “So if you’re a vegetarian lover, it should also be good for you.”
An opening date has not been set. Yang said the restaurant is awaiting its final city inspections and is prepared to open once those are complete.

Yang said about a month was spent renovating the former 815 Cajun for the new Poke Green, which was founded this year and is locally owned by Michelle Lin.
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The restaurant offers carryout and seating at seven tables inside.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas