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Taka restaurant began serving customers at their new Cookman Avenue location Thursday.

The official move from their Mattison Avenue space to a prominent corner space at the intersection of Cookman and Bond streets came shortly after members of the Asbury Park City Council Wednesday approved a request to transfer the restaurant’s liquor license from the old space to the new.

It’s a move that has been in the making for over two years.

The new space features a full  bar and surrounding lounge area [shown above], and an adjacent full dining room with open salad and sushi stations where patrons will be able to see the various specialty rolls made.

Reservations are a must for diners this weekend, according to restaurant manager Adam Broussel. The menu is also expected to eventually be tweaked for the new space, he said, but at the moment, patrons can sup on their favorite tried and true menu options while c0-owners William Kessler, Taka Hirai and David Martocci work out the details of the new menu offerings.

The bar and lounge area offers drinks-only, but a full bar menu is also on its way, Brousell said. For now, restaurant-goers who don’t have a reservation are invited to hang out at the bar or in the lounge area and sip on cocktails that feature lychee and other exotic fruits, or maybe a draft pint of Hitachino White Nest ale, a Japanese witbier (or wheat-style beer).

The new space is a welcome change for owners, who occupied 632 Mattison for ten years. The restaurant operated as a bring-your-own liquor establishment until they purchased the liquor license from former Synaxis Greek restaurant owners in June of 2013, allowing them to offer cocktails and bottled beer.

“We’re excited to move into a new space with a full bar and lounge,” said Hirai.

Taka is located at 660 Cookman Avenue. For more information, visit their Facebook page or call 732-775-1020.

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