Heiser
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A co-owner of several of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s most popular sushi and hibachi restaurants has passed away, according to the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office.
County coroner Frank Hacken confirmed the death of 44-year-old Mike Heiser, of Drums, saying that he died on July 31.
Heiser, along with business partners Joshua Crownover and Gui Yun Lin, make up the ownership group behind several hibachi restaurants across the area and beyond, including Shogun Japanese Restaurant inside the Woodlands and MYST in Jim Thorpe.
Speaking with a Times Leader reporter Monday evening, Crownover called Heiser “the most generous person” and expressed love and sorrow for a man who he referred to not just as a business partner, but as a best friend.
“He was like a big brother to me,” Crownover said. “Mike would do anything for anyone, he’d give you the shirt off his back.”
The two met while working at the Mohegan Sun Pocono about seven or eight years ago, with Heiser working as a bartender and Crownover as his barback.
“He took me under his wing, and we eventually went into business together. … The rest is history,” Crownover said. “My life is completely different because of him. … He gave me my life.”
Earlier this year, it was announced that the group had purchased the former Lanahu Ales building on Kirby Avenue in Mountain Top with the intent to open a new hibachi restaurant, modeled closely after the popular MYST.
Crownover pledged that the show would go on with the new restaurant, slated to open this year along with another new restaurant in the group’s portfolio, Steak and Steel Hibachi Inc. in Bethlehem.
“We’re going to press through, it’s what Mike would have wanted,” Crownover said. “The legacy that he started, we’re going to continue it.”
In the immediate wake of Heiser’s death, it wasn’t just Crownover with fond memories of the late restaurateur.
Heiser’s death has prompted an outpouring of support and condolences online, with Heiser’s Facebook page receiving over 100 posts and counting mourning his loss and celebrating the man that he was.
“You were THE BEST guy to work for and I’ll never forget your kindness, generosity and love for your family and friends,” reads one post.
Surviving are Heiser’s fiance, Jennifer, and his son Jonah.
Cause and manner of death are still pending, according to Hacken.