Upper Arlington is about to get buried in crab shells. UMI Hotpot Sushi & Seafood Buffet is set to open its first Ohio location at 1831 W. Henderson Road on April 1, bringing all-you-can-eat snow crab legs, stone crab claws and butter-baked whole crabs to the northwest side. The chain will also roll out ramen, a hot-pot setup and more than 200 dishes every day, a splashy new arrival in Columbus’ recent wave of big all-you-can-eat spots.
What they’ll serve
UMI’s format leans hard into variety, mixing sushi, hot pot and ramen with a seafood-heavy lineup. At other locations, that typically means lobster, prawns, shrimp and several styles of crab on top of rolls and nigiri. That spread shows up consistently in the chain’s menus and in customer reviews, which often single out the sushi choices and ramen bar while warning about packed dining rooms on busy nights.
A recent UMI debut in Middletown, New York, earned shout-outs for its crab-and-ramen combo, according to NJ 101.5.
When and where it opens
UMI’s Upper Arlington restaurant will officially open April 1, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch. The paper also notes that this will be the chain’s first Ohio outpost and that the kitchen is expected to turn out more than 200 items every day.
The new buffet lands on a stretch of Henderson Road that longtime diners already associate with Asian takeout and serve-yourself spreads, putting a fresh, high-volume option in a familiar buffet corridor.
How it fits the local buffet boom
UMI is wading into a crowded all-you-can-eat scene. Last year brought a mini boom of mega-buffets, including The Feast Buffet on Bethel Road and The City Buffet on Soldano Boulevard, both of which opened in 2025 as part of Columbus’ latest surge of multi-station concepts. Those launches were among several large sushi and seafood operations to grab attention around town, per WCMH.
Neighborhood all-you-can-eat sushi joints have been riding the same wave. Takumi on Sawmill Road and Hokkaido on Bethel Road highlight how local diners have been flocking to conveyor-belt setups and hibachi hybrids, according to Columbus Navigator and Columbus Underground.
Price and what to expect
UMI’s prices will vary by market, but one advertisement for the Niles, Illinois, location listed lunch at about $26 and dinner at about $39, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Guest reviews and listings for other UMI restaurants suggest that dinner usually lands in the 30-40 dollar range and that weekend evenings draw the longest lines, per Umi Hotpot.
If you are planning to hit the crab legs on opening weekend, it would be smart to expect a wait and the possibility of time limits during peak services.
UMI’s Upper Arlington launch drops a seafood-forward all-you-can-eat contender into a neighborhood that already loves big, shareable meals. We will add hours and detailed local menu information once UMI releases them, but for now the headline is simple: April 1, Henderson Road and as much crab as you can handle.
