Japanese Ramen Chain Closes Its Capitol Hill Restaurant

Acclaimed ramen chain Tentenyu has closed its Capitol Hill restaurant, the Kyoto, Japan-based company’s only Washington location.

After the shop, located at 1510 Belmont Ave., closed, it reportedly reopened under local ownership before shuttering permanently.

Tentenyu shut down one of its two Los Angeles locations this summer, too, which makes its Culver City restaurant the only remaining place in the U.S. to get the chain’s chicken or mushroom ramen.

Is this an isolated incident or a sign that diners are tiring of the ramen rush? Capitol Hill in particular has received a major influx of highly regarded ramen restaurants, like independent Ooink and international chains Betsutenjin and Ramen Danbo, over the past couple years.

More big names are on the way, too, as Tokyo’s first Michelin-starred ramen restaurant, Tsuta, and celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto’s Momosan Ramen and Sake are both scheduled to expand to Seattle in 2019. But so far the response to these two expansion announcements has been extremely welcoming, which suggests the problem may have been more on Tentenyu’s side.

• All coverage of Tentenyu [ESEA]
• Tentenyu [Official website]
• More Openings and Closings [CHS Blog]
• This Tokyo Ramen Shop Expanding to LA Serves Huge Chunks of Pork Belly [ELA]
• 8 Elite Ramen Restaurants in Seattle [ESEA]