Ramen Shoten at Eat Street Crossing in Minneapolis is closing

Ramen Shoten, the ramen-centric restaurant from chef John Ng and Lina Goh inside Eat Street Crossing, will close on April 28. The good news is that fans of Ng’s intricate brothy soups will still have access to his work, just not at the Minneapolis food hall.

“The whole idea of Eat Street Crossing was for it to be kind of an incubator for new ideas,” said Goh. “Ramen Shoten was a really fun experiment.”

But the space in the chef-owned food hall won’t be vacant for long.

Las Vegas chef Louross Edralin will open Staff Meeting on May 4. Edralin recently held a pop-up in that very location in what we now know was a test drive of ideas and the space. The restaurant is inspired by the post-service food adventures he’d take his restaurant crew on late at night.

“In Las Vegas, my team and I are always working 10- to 12-hour shifts and serving 400 to 500 covers. After a crazy night, I will reward my team. I’ll say, ‘Hey, let’s have a staff meeting!’ and they all know what that means,” Edralin said in a statement. “We might head to a ramen shop or go somewhere lo-fi and get some great wings. It’s a time for us all to decompress, swap stories and relax. That’s the vibe I want to create.”

Staff Meeting’s menu will include dishes like Japanese curry with chicken katsu, spicy double-fried wings, Korean fried rice, gluten-free and vegetarian options and much more.

Edralin has tapped chef Thai Nguyen to lead the project with him, in collaboration with Andy Tran and the Wyn Group, which is behind Eden Prairie’s Asia Mall as well as part of the ongoing redevelopment of Burnsville Center. (The mall’s Ate Ate Ate food hall is expected to open later this spring.)

Closing Ramen Shoten was a difficult decision for Ng and Goh, but the couple said they need to be conservative with their resources as their first restaurant faces challenges. Zen Box Izakaya (602 Washington Av. S., Mpls., zenbox.com), located near the Guthrie Theater, is surrounded by massive road construction that’s stretched on for the past three years. “It was supposed to finish last spring,” said Goh. The construction equipment makes it nearly impossible to see Zen Box Izakaya from Washington Avenue and has gravely impacted their business.

Now, “it’s supposed to wrap up this summer,” said Goh, who said she hopes fans of Ng’s ramen and the restaurant’s flavor of Japanese pub fun will still visit despite a few parking headaches.

After collaborating with Edralin on his recent pop-up, Ng and Goh are excited about what Staff Meeting will bring to the table.

“With Ramen Shoten, we started with the idea of an authentic ramen joint, and chef Louross brings a wealth of experience working with pan-Asian flavors, so there will be more expansive offerings in the space,” said Ng. “Ramen is still my true love, and I am excited to focus that energy on Zen Box, which has remained a go-to for fans of high-quality Izakaya-style ramen.”

Goh and Ng will continue to operate Sushi Dori at Eat Street Crossing and run the facility along with co-owners Gabriella Grant-Spangler and Ben Spangler.

Staff Meeting will join Bebe Zito Ice Cream, Niko Niko Boba, Sushi Dori, Bebe Zito Burgers, ESC Bar and Pizzaria Ouro in Eat Street Crossing, located at 2819 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls., eatstreetcrossing.com.