In its first two weeks of business, Bob Ramen can’t serve the Japanese noodle soup fast enough.
The response to the 28-seat noodle bar on Hartford’s Capitol Avenue has been overwhelming, say co-owners Chris Parrott and Patrick Miceli, who officially opened the restaurant on Dec. 13 next door to their popular cocktail bar, Little River Restoratives. Customers, traveling from as far as western Massachusetts and Waterbury, have packed the tables from open to close for bowls of ramen, steamed pork buns and dumplings.
“We’re twice as busy as our ‘best case scenario’ right now,” Parrott said.
To keep up with demand, Parrott and Miceli have decided to move forward with an idea they have been considering for several months. Miceli’s Plainville bistro, 50 West, will close on Jan. 1 after New Year’s Eve service and rebrand as a second Bob Ramen, reopening toward the end of January after three to four weeks of aesthetic changes and menu overhauls.
“Strategically, we were thinking about a change for quite some time,” Miceli said. “Chris and I talked about reconceptualizing what we were doing there. This just feels right. It’s the right timing, the new year, we got [the original Bob Ramen] open in December; it’s right for us on a lot of levels.”
Plainville’s Bob Ramen will have about twice the seating capacity of the Hartford restaurant, and with a larger kitchen the partners expect to expand the menu with new bowls, steamed buns and additional items, along with what Miceli calls a “a very fun” beverage program with sake, overseen by Parrott.
Parrott said the changeover at the 50 West space will alleviate several production issues in Hartford, as the kitchen will become a commissary for product served at the original location, like broths and sauces.
“We’ll actually have a chance to refine our recipes, work on things, observe our systems and methods,” he said. They also plan to implement delivery service in Hartford.
Miceli said the change would bring Plainville a value-oriented, fast-casual concept, but with the same principles of hospitality 50 West offered. The restaurant opened in the fall of 2012 and enjoyed success as a neighborhood bistro and wine bar with upscale New England-inspired fare, but Miceli said he’s ready for a new challenge.
“I pushed that ceiling as far as I could go with the fine dining side,” he said. While he said the decision to phase out 50 West has been “tough,” he and Parrott are ready to continue with the expansion of the ramen model, which the partners plan to turn into a larger brand with as many as 5 restaurants.
“We always talked about a hub-and-spoke concept, multiple units, but this just made our decision quicker,” he said.
Miceli said after the closing, 50 West gift certificates will be honored at Bob Ramen’s two locations and at Little River Restoratives.
The partners are working with chef Craig Hutchinson to roll out the Plainville restaurant and future spots. Hutchinson, a Bethany native, brings a wealth of experience, having been part of the opening team at the former Ribelle in Brookline, Mass., and most recently, Gristmill in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.
In Connecticut, he previously served as executive chef at New Haven’s Caseus Fromagerie & Bistro, and partnered with colleague Alex Lishchynsky to create [oink], a pop-up concept that hosts special dinners at venues throughout the state. Hutchinson connected with Miceli and Parrott through [oink]’s ramen-themed pop-up event at Little River Restoratives in February.
“Patrick and Chris are all about fun, which I think comes through with Bob Ramen,” he said. “I’m excited to be a part of the team.”
Parrott said Bob Ramen came about as a way to fill what he calls a “huge, gaping void” in the region for the noodle soup, built with rich bone broth and complex layers of flavor from vegetables, meat and spices. Ramen has been growing in popularity in Connecticut, but it’s not as readily available in the state as it is in larger cities.
“The more I say it, the less silly it sounds, [but] I think we opened up a ramen shop so we could eat ramen,” he said. “The fact that we were falling in love with it and it couldn’t happen without a field trip, made it kind of become imperative… There’s always something fun about being first in the neighborhood, but it really is addressing a food need.”
Bob Ramen will open at 50 W. Main St. in Plainville. In Hartford, it’s at 399 Capitol Ave. 860-904-5370, facebook.com/bob.ramen399.
.galleries:after {
content: ”;
display: block;
background-color: #c52026;
margin: 16px auto 0;
height: 5px;
width: 100px;
}
.galleries:before {
content: “Liquor Cabinet Videos”;
display: block;
font: 700 23px/25px Belizio,Georgia,’Droid Serif’,serif;
text-align: center;
color: #1e1e1e;
}
