Intimate sushi eatery Kappo at East End Market will close and owners will open a Japanese-themed convenience store.

Owners Lordfer Lalicon, left, Mark Berdin and Jennifer Banagale sent an email Tuesday morning to customers saying they would be closing their popular, but embattled sushi restaurant, where customers can sit face to face with sushi chefs.

"We are changing to a convenience store and looking for a new location for Kappo because we have kind of outgrown East End," Lalicon said. "We would love to stay in this neighborhood, because we like it and it supported us and we are thankful for everything that it has done for us."

Kappo should close around the end of December and be replaced with the new store soon after that.

Lalicon, Berdin and Banagale will remain owners of the Japanese-themed convenience store. Lalicon said details on the convenience store would be coming soon.

"I knew they always hope to grow Kappo into a stand-alone restaurant," said East End Market owner John Rife said.

Lalicon said they are actively looking for a new location.

Kappo has been at East End Market since September 2014.

The restaurant clashed with state health inspectors earlier this year, after the agency asked them to install a sneeze guard. The restaurant was able to keep operating without the sneeze guard.

karnold@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5664