San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
A new larger site for Nama Ramen
Nama Ramen is welcoming guests back into its dining room for the first time in about a year, but the noodle-slurping is in a new, larger space.
Owner Kevin Chu is seeing a 6-year-old vision come to fruition at 6526 Babcock Road, just down the street from the original outpost. Chu, who grew up in the local restaurant scene thanks to his parents’ businesses, launched his own restaurant, Nama, when he was 24 in 2015.
“It’s almost been a mission of mine since my late teens to bring something a little more cultured to San Antonio,” Chu said. “I want to do my little part to highlight the Asian dining experience.”
Chu said the updated digs are double the size of the original restaurant. He worked throughout the pandemic-related shutdowns, even if that meant not taking a salary for a year.
“I was able to keep my main staff employed and keep the prices the same,” he added. “It was not the time to jack up the prices on our people.”
Chu and staff are now putting the finishing touches on the new space and looking back at what got them to this point.
“Every bowl of noodles, every piece of sushi has gone to the plan,” he said.
His roots in the restaurant scene shine in the eye-catching mural on the exterior of the restaurant. Chu sprinkled “Easter eggs” throughout the facade with the names and addresses of his family’s businesses, creating a scribbled fill for the sunbursts breaking out from the entrance. cones produced without artificial colors, preservatives or high-fructose corn syrup.
The brand serves flavors filled with ingredients from farmers and food artisans in Texas. The scoops come in several flavors, including caramel, coffee with cream and Hill Country honey.