Photo by George Mahe
Nami Ramen, Clayton’s first ramen house, is moving several miles east.
Owner Jason Jan says a lease has been signed at the former Bobo Noodle House location, at 278 N. Skinker. He hopes to open in the new space by the end of October.
"It's not so strange that a ramen shop is moving into a noodle house, is it?" he quips.
Jan opened Nami Ramen at the corner of Central and Maryland in early 2016, sparking an onslaught of ramen shops. (When Nami first opened, SLM wrote, “It's only fitting that the year's first ramen restaurant takes its name from the Japanese word for ‘wave,’ because that's exactly what St. Louis may experience in 2016—a tsunami of ramen joints.” Hyperbole perhaps, but in the last five years, ramen did become a household word in St. Louis.)
Jan says he's been looking to relocate nearby ever since a proposed hotel and condo development was presented in February 2019. At the time, all of the businesses within the half block parcel (many holding month-to-month leases) were given a year to vacate, and many did. Several locations closed (Cobbler’s Corner Shoe Repair, Vincent Van Doughnut, St. Louis Kolache), while others moved within Clayton (Jon’s Pipe Shop, Imo’s Pizza, John P. Fields).
The original master development plan was subsequently withdrawn, but Jan says it was only a matter of time before another one came along.
“We feel we found the perfect spot," he says. "We would be paying less rent and can pretty much cater to the same market, so it made sense to act now, before we were forced to do so.”
Photo by George Mahe
The new site is located across the street from the Washington University campus, near the neighborhoods where many of the ramen shop's existing customers live. Jan's goal for the new space is to create a more intimate dining experience, “more like a traditional Japanese ramen shack,” he says. “That’s what will help set us apart.”
Jan also plans to give Nami a more robust online presence, as well as streamline the ordering process to be more efficient and user-friendly.
Jan says the COVID-19 pandemic taught him the importance of the less-is-more construct. “These days, the key is keeping your menu tight and doing only what you do best,” he says, adding that will be his mantra going forward.
Regarding the ramen scene in St. Louis, Jan says he’s always looked at the bigger picture, hoping that many local businesses and individuals would be able to provide an authentic ramen experience. In that regard, he’s all for pop-ups and collaborations.
“We all have our own style and recipes,” he says. “I’d rather promote ramen as a whole.”
