The Rock Chalk Roll at Prime Blu, 619 Massachusetts St., is a melody of crab, avocado, spiced tuna, mango slices and macadamia nuts.

With lasers darting across the ceiling, a huge doughnut-shaped bar lit from underneath by LED lights, and massive floor-to-ceiling columns that change colors powered by more lasers, downtown Lawrence’s Prime Blu isn’t your average sushi spot.

It may be hard to imagine, but what customers see walking into the restaurant today at 619 Massachusetts St. is actually a toned-down version of what the 5,400-square-foot space looked like back when it opened in March, says manager David Kwon.

The Coconut Gigolo Roll with crab, avocado, mango and shrimp tempura is pictured at Prime Blu, 619 Massachusetts St. The sushi restaurant, which opened in downtown Lawrence in March, features colorful decor with lasers and flashing LED lights on top of its menu.

The interior of Prime Blu, 619 Massachusetts St., features a bar lite using LED lights and lasers in the ceiling.

He says restaurant staffers ended up removing some of the flashier elements to accommodate epileptic patrons.

“We came here with the idea of targeting university students, so we wanted to bring a hip, trendy place for them to relax and have a good time,” says Kwon, a 10-year veteran of the sushi restaurant circuit.

In addition to Prime Blu, the company operates three Wasabi restaurants in Wichita, says Kwon, who worked as a manager at the more “traditional” sushi bar in Wichita before moving to Lawrence last November to supervise renovations at the new location.

Much of the restaurant’s dishes were adopted from Wasabi recipes, with a few new rolls being rotated in. Varieties like the Rock Chalk roll (shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, mango slices, crab, avocado and macadamia nuts) and the Crazy Shrimpy roll (crab, shrimp tempura, avocado and cream cheese, topped with shredded crab) are starting to emerge as best-sellers in Lawrence, Kwon says.

Originally, Prime Blu’s decor featured even more lasers on the ceiling, plus a roving spotlight over the restaurant’s sushi bar and paintings along the walls that incorporated flashing LED lights and — you guessed it — lasers.

Kwon says he’s planning on bringing back the spotlight for Prime Blu’s late-night hours once Kansas University classes start up in the fall. Prime Blu used to clear out tables in the evenings and bring in a live D.J. from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. soon after opening, but Kwon now says he may have jumped the gun on that.

“We tried it out too early. Not enough people knew about us,” says Kwon, who’s hoping to attract a young, club-going clientele without scaring away those looking for a more laid-back dining experience.

Prime Blu may specialize in sushi — more than 50 varieties, in fact, plus other Japanese entrees such as bento boxes — but funnily enough, Kwon says he wants to emulate Panera, the American bakery chain, in creating a space where people “lounge and hang out.”

Customers have access to free WiFi throughout Prime Blu, and each booth is equipped with electrical outlets for charging phones, laptops and the like.

“We’re doing traditional sushi — a lot of rolls — but I do want to provide people with a cool place to hang out,” Kwon says. “They could have a group study session or a business meeting here, whatever people want.”

For patrons in search of a traditional Japanese sushi service, Prime Blu has a fully stocked sushi bar in the back, where chefs — brought in from California, all with at least a decade of sushi experience under their belts — serve up selections in omakase tradition.

Meaning “I’ll leave it to you” in Japanese, the dining style leaves the ordering to the chef. In Japan, Kwon says, it’s customary for the chef to come up with new creations using what’s fresh.

“People like to watch the chefs make the food. Sometimes customers like to buy drinks for the chefs and interact with them,” he says of Prime Blu. “And the chefs will make them special off-the-menu items. It’s a lot of fun.”

For now, Kwon says he’s still trying to figure out Prime Blu’s place in the dining scene. To reel in customers before the school year starts, the restaurant is offering half-price sushi rolls every day this summer.

“I’ve heard this town is a very close-knit community,” he says. “I want us to be a part of that.”