Kukai Ramen Changes Name to Kizuki Ramen

Kukai Ramen & Izakaya, a Japan-based chain with three locations in the Seattle area, has announced it it changing the name of its entire chain. It will henceforth be known as Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya.

The restaurant's website details the amusing backstory of the name and the reasoning for the change. Among other reasons, "kukai" means "poop" in Hawaiian. Here's more from the site:

This new name was chosen with great thought and careful consideration (we checked with the Hawaiians too) and we hope that our customers will like it. Aside from the name change, not much else is going to change.

Our ownership, management, quality and consistency of food and service will all remain exactly as they are, if not better. This small but meaningful name change will give us greater flexibility in entering new markets and we hope, help us build stronger connections with our existing and new customers.

The new name took effect on January 1.