Plans for Dragonfish Bremerton have been in the works for a while. The restaurant has two other locations — one in Seattle and one in Portland. The Bremerton site will not be a franchise and will be operated through a license agreement.

Dragonfish offers Pan-Asian cuisine with an upscale décor in an upscale yet casual atmosphere, said Craig Hoffman of Hoffman Hospitality. The food will all be prepared on site from fresh ingredients. The menu will include styles from all the Pacific Rim Asian countries, but tailored to appeal to American tastes so the food is more accessible to people who may not like Asian fare. He said the concept fits a niche in upscale ethnic cuisine, and noted there is no other restaurant like it in Kitsap.

“I can’t think of any other market in the Pacific Northwest that needs a high-end restaurant,” he said.

Dragonfish, which will seat up to 185 people, will be located in the Dietz Building at the corner of Pacific and Fourth Street. The 5,000-square-foot space will be renovated, and all the permits have been secured, Hoffman said.

The $1.7 million project has raised $650,000 through local investors. The rest will be financed through a private investment group via a plan that includes the buyout of a larger restaurant chain. Hoffman said negotiations were in place with a potential chain.

The project comes at a time when downtown Bremerton is starting to bloom with activity and new condominiums will bring more residents to the area, while new business faces such as the Kitsap Credit Union headquarters are likely to continue to attract new companies.

While the business model for Dragonfish is based on current numbers and doesn’t include a future growth forecast, Hoffman acknowledges the timing is good. “Bremerton is coming alive,” he said. “We see what’s happening in Bremerton as giving us a boost.”.