Stingray owner Darius Mansoory dies abroad

Darius Mansoory, owner of Stingray Sushi Bar and Asian Latino Grill in Rehoboth Beach, and Washington Street Ale House in Wilmington, died Dec. 31 while on vacation in Cuba.

The cause of death is believed to be a heart attack, although nothing official has been released. Maggie Morrison, general manager of Stingray, said Mansoory’s family is in the process of getting his body back from Cuba but she was not at liberty to say much more at this time. Besides Stingray and Washington Street Ale House, Mansoory also owned Mikimotos restaurant, also in Wilmington, with all of his restaurants falling under the corporate umbrella of Cherry Tree Hospitality Group.

“We are running all restaurant business as usual and are in process of transferring ownership. Nothing is closing and we plan to move forward with bigger things for the future of Cherry Tree Hospitality Group,” Morrison said.

Mansoory took over the restaurant at 59 Lake Ave. in 2009 after it had gone through a succession of different ventures and introduced a menu combining sushi with Asian and Latino fusion dishes. Mansoory had fought a lengthy legal battle with the city of Rehoboth over the building of an outdoor patio. The fight started after he was denied a permit of compliance and then a variance from the city. Mansoory took the case to Delaware Superior Court, where he successfully had the city’s ruling overturned. He was finally granted a liquor license for the patio in August.