Welcome to Behind the Businesses! This blog aims to explore Asian influence in Providence, Rhode Island by looking into Asian-owned and Asian-inspired businesses. We have photos, videos, interview transcripts, and interview audios to accompany our four focuses: Ken's Ramen, Sawaddee, Smart Cuts, and SnoTea. This project was supervised under Professor Bob Lee and Teaching Assistant Crystal Ngo for the American Studies seminar Transpacific Popular Culture at Brown University.
My experience getting haircuts at Smart Cuts has been very pleasant. As someone who has very Asian hair, I was excited to discover Mrs. Chang, the owner of Smart Cuts, and have been going there frequently for haircuts because she not only understands what kind of hairstyle suits me but also helps me practice Korean.
Yanisa: So, okay. So I want to interview you about your restaurant, about Sawaddee. So why did you decide to open the Thai restaurant in Providence?
Owner: Because Providence is more [a] center for everybody. More populations.
Yanisa: Okay, so why did you decide to name your restaurant as Sawaddee?
Owner: Because it’s simple. It means ‘hello.'
Yanisa: Oh, okay!
Owner: Yeah. And a lot of people want to know, what is the meaning of ‘Sawaddee,’ so every time when I say ‘hello,’ I can show them sawadee ka. And the people love it, love to know that it means ‘hello.'
Yanisa: So what do you do here each day in your restaurant?
Owner: Mostly … everything! Outside here, I check the dining room and plus make sure that the kitchen is [going] the way it’s supposed to be. Because this is a seventeen years old restaurant.
Yanisa: So your businesses has been open for seventeen years, right?
Owner: Seventeen now, yes.
Yanisa: Because the first time that I came to your restaurant, I always saw you come in and out of the kitchen all the time.
Owner: Yeah, yeah. And the kitchen is—I’m not too, too worried, because we have the chef from Thailand that come to work regularly, but I am the top of that. I try to make sure that everything is [going] on the direction that we want it, and the basic way we want to cook a little Thai food for the people. And I want the people [to] know that Thai food is like this. Because sometimes when I went to New York or another state or even in this state, I’m looking for the Thai restaurant, and I found it and—this is not [a] Thai restaurant. And it’s amazing. And even sometimes I found [them] from the Yellow Pages where they were advertising, and I thought, ‘It is a Thai restaurant!’ but then I talked to someone who answered the phone, they cannot tell—I can see that it’s not Thai food.
Yanisa: So they don’t speak in Thai at all?
Owner: Not at all. And plus, when we talk about the food, it’s zero. They don’t know anything.
Yanisa: Oh. So they’re not even from Thailand.
Owner: I don’t know, because right now I have some [waiters] that cannot speak Thai, too. But my food is very Thai food. I don’t know. I don’t know what to say. But the major problem is, the kitchen [has] to cook Thai food. Even we have someone out here that cannot speak Thai.
Yanisa: Oh, okay. So the most important thing is to have Thai food.
Owner: That we cook Thai, authentic Thai food.
Yanisa: Oh, okay. So that leads to the question—how did you decide your menu?
Owner: Menu. My first restaurant is named Bangkok Cuisine in Warwick, 1982 Warwick Avenue. Many years ago, maybe twenty something, twenty one years ago. So I’ve been [having] those menu[s], and I use those menu[s] to develop, day by day, to use in here. And I try to create more, more—because Thai food is so many, many, many, many [choices...she wants to say that there are many different dishes in Thai food]. The one that you see in this menu is just [a] small part of Thailand, part of Thai food. And even when I was young, my mom cooked Thai food and I’d sit down and see her or talk to her or eat with her—we have so plenty, plenty Thai food.
Yanisa: So you mention your menu is a small portion of the entire Thai food, yeah?
Owner: Yeah, yeah.
Yanisa: How did you decide to take that small portion? Why not the other portions?
Owner: We see by whether the customers love it. [In the] beginning, I might put the menu out on the table, in the paper, with a picture like this.I wait for a while and add more special items on the menu with the picture and explanation. And then after two or three months—I put out three of them, and then the one that’s the most popular, we know that because we don’t even put [it] in the big menu, but the people order by telephone or by delivery. It means, after they eat, they love it so much and then they'll memorize and then they order by telephone. That is amazing me that, oh, they must love this one.
Yanisa: Oh, so that is not even on the big menu?
Owner: No, not yet. It’s on a paper like this—a special—
Yanisa: Oh, on a table like this. That’s interesting. So you started to do a lot of your menu from looking at your customer’s feedback.
Owner: Yes. And plus, the menu from Bangkok Cuisine. That we have it.
Yanisa: So why did you change from Bangkok Cuisine to Sawaddee?
Owner: Oh, I sold Bangkok Cuisine. Bangkok Cuisine is the first Thai restaurant in Rhode Island. At the time that it was open, Bangkok Cuisine—no Thai restaurants in here. And then after that, for a year or something, a lot of Thai restaurants start to come out.
Yanisa: Wow, you’re the first one.
Owner: Yes, we had the first Thai restaurant. And that’s why the Providence Journal [wrote] the review about us. Why Bangkok Cuisine—why Thai food [was] born in the same building with the pizza. It was the name [she mentioned the name of the Italian pizza restaurant that was open in the same building with Bangkok Cuisine...not sure of the name] of Italy pizza. Because I have no experience and I have no idea that in Warwick, it’s too far. And that’s why I start[ed] again in Providence, because everybody complained about [having] to drive over the bridge to Warwick for Bangkok Cuisine. Then I sold Bangkok Cuisine to a family of Chinese people and now it’s named Jade Dragon. At 1982 Warwick Avenue.
Yanisa: So the Chinese family make[s] the Chinese food, so it’s called Jade Dragon? Oh, that’s interesting.
Owner: And right now, that is the answer of why I opened in Providence. I sold that one and came back to be in nursing, to work as a nurse. Because I’m originally a registered nurse from Thailand.
Yanisa: Oh! So, after you sold Bangkok Cuisine and you became a nurse again—
Owner: Not became, I was a nurse. So I come back to practice, to work as a registered nurse two days a week, something like that. And when I had Bangkok Cuisine, it just [was] so brand new [of an] experience for me. So after a while—that is too much for a person who never ran a restaurant. It’s about four [four times] bigger than this.
Yanisa: So you were back to work as a nurse, and how long after that did you decide to open this restaurant?
Owner: Oh, maybe a couple years. And then I found this restaurant over here and then I bought it, and I think it’s small, and at that time, my children [were] in high school. So I thought, this is going to be for the children—for my children’s kitchen, to eat. [laughs] And that is mostly the reason. And plus, I understand that in this area, the population that eats Thai food is more than in Warwick at that time, at that point.
Yanisa: So when you bought the restaurant, what kind of restaurant was that?
Owner: It was a Thai restaurant. But the owner was so sick, and she lived in New York. So someone [took] care of her, and the businesses [kept] going under.
Yanisa: So you took over for her?
Owner: Yeah. And her business was no good because the owner never [came] here, she [was] so sick. And she went back to Thailand with her husband.
Yanisa: Oh, she’s from Thailand!
Owner: Yeah, she’s a teacher, I think.
Yanisa: Oh, interesting!
Owner: Yeah. And she was so sick.
Yanisa: Oh. Oh, okay.
Owner: And then she want[ed] to sell it, her husband want[ed] to sell it. So I call. I come here to have a meal with my friend, Professor Spalding, and he told me, ‘oh, [Sue], I’m gonna take you to the Thai restaurant, it’s so cute.’ And so I come here and I like it right away. It’s so tiny. No, but I like it. Then, they did not even put the sign on that they wanted to sell. I tried to get in touch with the owners.
Yanisa: Ah, and then you got the restaurant.
Owner: Yeah. But it’s not easy to get in touch with them because they did not put the sign up at that time. And then the lady who owned the restaurant was so sick.
Yanisa: Oh
Owner: Not great restaurant so they had to try to get rid of the restaurant so..
My favorite thing about Yan’s is that they have a lot of authentic dishes that are hard to find in the US, but remind me of my time in Beijing. I especially like the Chinese style green beans and eggplant, as well as their Kung Pao chicken.
Yanisa: Sick, yeah. So what is your favorite dish that somehow like represents your cultural identity?
Owner: I don’t know
Yanisa: Or favorite dish you like?
Owner: I like so many dish(es)
Yanisa: I know the feeling
Owner: Bangkok curry the one with the pineapple is a [really delicious dish] I created it from [Kang Sapparod/Kang Kua Sapparod] you know in Thailand. I love that kind of curry. I remember when I was young, my mom didn’t eat curry with coconut milk
Yanisa: Oh, why not?
Owner: Because the old fashioned they eat Kang Som, Kang Pa...all the curry dishes with no coconut milk. But I remember she said Oh today we cooked curry with coconut milk for my older brother or for me. So I’ve liked those dishes [curry with coconut milk] since then. At Bangkok Cuisine, I put that for a special menu.
Yanisa: And do customers like it?
Owner: Yes
Yanisa: Because who doesn't like coconut milk?
Owner: Yes because the pineapple is sweet sour some taste. I like it.
Yanisa: Is it spicy?
Owner: A little bit
Yanisa: Yummy. So what is one unexpected thing positive or negative that has happened to you or your staff as a result of opening your business?
Owner: Oh because we’ve been through so many years so sometime(s) it(s) hard to make everybody happy. It’s hard that way. I should try to open, I(‘ve) been trying to open the next room and then I’m not successful, I can’t, now I have to stop to do it and it’s been so much money for nothing.
Yanisa: Oh for the first restaurant..
Owner: No for that next room. I’ve been wanted to knock this wall to that room.
Yanisa: Oh, so you want to expand it
Owner: Now I cannot, yeah, because there are so many problems caused by the landlord.
Yanisa: Is that like the next building?
Owner: It the same building.
Yanisa: Oh the same building.
Owner: Next room, when you walk there you take a right...that is the room that I’ve been trying to expand, I already talked with an architect, this project is about 70 to 80% close to finish.
Yanisa: So you own that place.
Owner: That room, but this now I try to get out of that
Yanisa: Cause it’s so hard to expand the restaurant.
Owner: Yeah and to keep watching for two rooms. and plus my age and my physical not allow me anymore
Yanisa: But I think like having a tiny place is easy to take care of right?
Owner: Yeah I thought so those years, but in the middle of the process it became...
Yanisa: Complicated.
Owner: Yeah, plus I have a grandchild now, it’s exciting to rest, to be retired, and then that’s why. My age it (does) not give me a chance to, my heart, I want to do it, but I can’t.
Yanisa: Oh, So are your grandchildren in Providence?
Owner: No, in New Jersey.
Yanisa: So what about your business makes you the most proud? Or when were you most proud?
Owner: To represent Thai food. I am very very very happy because I feel that I show the real Thai food to people.
Yanisa: Could you talk about that certificate that you got from the Department of Export, Ministry of Export?
Owner: Ministry of Export. Let me take a look. This is the one. From the Department of Export promotion. Ministry of Commerce,this is awarded by Ministry of Commerce Thailand. They come here all Thai working in the Embassy and they select all Thai restaurants. They don’t just come here they go to a lot and then they taste the food, they pay, they order, they pay, they eat, and they like it, so they send this to Thai select. We continue to get Thai select from them. Going to be this is from 2014, they continue from 15 to 17, 3 more years I think.
Yanisa: So this certificate is to guarantee that you make authentic Thai food?
Owner: They said Ministry of Commerce Department, they said they want to protect Thai food, to make sure that the people who come here, go to the restaurant to the Thai restaurant have Thai food. Not just go to the Thai restaurant and have the food that is cooked, so terrible. That(s) the way they are, they just try to protect the Thai food because so many Thai restaurants...
Yanisa: Didn’t sell Thai Food. Didn’t sell Thai authentic food in a way.
Owner: Yes
Yanisa: What has been your biggest challenge in opening a restaurant?
Owner: I cannot remember what year we do the catering for wedding party (laughs). In I think, North Kingstown, it is the beautiful wedding party and it is hard to do that. And I accept to do, I did.
Yanisa: So it’s really hard.
Owner: The food is not too bad, but the way to carry and be... I never know how to do it before.
Yanisa: Also it was your first time doing the catering.
Owner: And a wedding party, and I accept that challenge (laughs)
Yanisa: But you enjoy it, right?
Owner: Yeah! I enjoy because it’s so new experience, and my customer is from Brown University. I think that time I was beginning [just started to open Sawaddee].
Yanisa: She was a Brown student?
Owner: She graduated from medicine department, and the man is… I think PHD from a very good university… what do you say it? Ivy League. I still keep the picture of the wedding at the restaurant.
Yanisa: Wow! So how many people were at that wedding?
Owner: Not more than three hundred.
Yanisa: Wow, that’s a lot.
Owner: Yeah, a lot, yeah.
Yanisa: That’s a great experience (laughs) A lot of challenges. Where do you see your business in the next five years?
Owner: I see that we are still doing great. I think Sawaddee has been here for seventeen years, so the way we cook we never change, almost everything remains the same, so it still remain to be number one. (laughs)
Yanisa: So have you ever tried to come up with new strategies to attract more customers when the competition between the same kind of business was so intense?
Owner: I am not too worried so much with the competitive. Competitive is good. It makes you try harder. It challenges you and makes you try harder. But something that… when people talking, we have to listen. But we’re not too too nervous to lose our ground...our basic concepts so I never too worried.
Yanisa: About the competition or anything
Owner: Yeah, but I try- When we have competition, we try to make it better. It good for the customer. But I don’t worry in the way that makes me lose my basic concept.
Yanisa: That’s a great philosophy
Owner: Yeah because if we are too worried and nervous, we cannot be ourselves. We have to understand that where we stand, what we are doing.
Yanisa: Still be yourself
Owner: Yeah
Yanisa: So have you thought of, you know, revising items on your menu? Like adding new stuff on the menu or removing the current dishes that do not work so much?
Owner: What do you mean?
Yanisa: Like, have you ever thought of putting new dishes on your menu?
Owner: Yeah, day by day, I try to keep putting new dish, but some customers like it, but some don’t like it. But we can see that there’s some dish that people love it, then they order those dishes on telephone.
Yanisa: So if there are some dishes that are not so popular, are you gonna remove that dish out of the menu, or no?
Owner: No. I think I have to give the chance for the people who want it, because people are different. 100 people come in...some dishes are not popular but there are still some people who love them. So if I remove it and just keep the popular one, then… not very fair.
Yanisa: I feel like you care a lot about your customers.
Owner: I am, I am. Because we sell the food. We want them to get the high quality of food and Thai food in the best quality that I can give them. And so that is the point, the main reason.
Yanisa: So we’ve come to the last question. You told me about the pan-fry stove and the wok stove. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Owner: Yeah, I try to explain to you that all the sautee we use a wok. The stove flame is very strong. And that the way that cook all the sautee, make the food become so delicious, so... so good. Not use only the pan fry. The pan fry we can do for curry, it’s okay. But then all the sautee... say about fried rice. If you sautee fried rice, make fried rice in the wok, you can smell the fragrance.
Yanisa: Yeah, the smell is different.
Owner: Yeah, it’s different with the pan fried. The pan fried is just… no
Yanisa: Not a great smell as the...
Owner: That’s what it is. We use it for the sautee.
Yanisa: And you tell me that not a lot of Thai restaurants use two kinds of stoves, right?
Owner: Yes, because I know it from the people who come to work, and then they tell me, “You don’t need to have that stove, the wok stove, you can use only the pan fry.” And I said, “Mmmm, the taste is not good” and they said, “I see the people go, and they not complain.” But I think because a lot of the customers do not know...
Yanisa: Doesn’t know that there’s a better stove?
Owner: But some customers that I have, the customer who come here, and one day… the young man who cooks at the wok, he cooks so quick because he is lazy.
Yanisa: (laughs)
Owner: And tired, because he has to put a lot of pressure on his hands in order to cook with the wok stove.
Yanisa: Oh yeah
Owner: And then that customer is American, and she said, “Today I think your food is… the flavor is different.” (laughs) She knows it. She knows it! And she’s American. So don’t think they don’t know.
Yanisa: Don’t underestimate your customer.
Owner: (laughs) So I go back to the kitchen and asked the young man. I noticed that he was lazy. Not lazy, but he was tired. Because on the Friday’s night he has been doing so much of the sautee. And the action is so much.
Yanisa: Yeah.
Owner: They use two hands and then… yeah.
Yanisa: This is so interesting!
Owner: So they know. Don’t under…
Yanisa: ...estimate them.
Owner: estimate them.
Yanisa: Thank you so much for joining our interview.
Owner: You’re welcome.
Yanisa: And I will definitely keep coming to Sawaddee. Thank you so much.
Owner: Okay, thank you. She takes a lot of picture.
Sammie: So, just some background about what we’re doing and why we’re talking to you and all that, we’re in a class called Transpacific Popular Culture, it’s taught by, if you’re interested, Bob Lee up at Brown. So all semester we’ve been looking at the influences of Asian culture on the West and not just the west, for example, how K-drama’s are really popular in the Middle East at times, how Americanized Chinese food became a thing, and martial arts films… all of that. And for our final project we’re focusing on entrepreneurship in Providence of Asians and Asian Americans. Hence, we’re talking to you.
Yoshi: Nice!
Sammie: And we’re focusing a lot on food because we all love food. So our first question for you is: what made you choose to open up your business and why is this important to you?
Yoshi: Well, I grew up in the industry, my parents are into sushi restaurants. So I basically lived in a restaurant my whole life, but what really made me want to this is like….Basically I just want to showcase the food in it’s natural like most authentic state, but make it so accessible so that anyone can just come in. It doesn’t matter who you are, like, American, Indonesian, or Middle Eastern you’ll just enjoy our food.
Sammie: Actually, authentic has been a huge buzz word in our class of a lot of debate. So I’m wondering what authentic means to you.
Yoshi: Did you go to the Hapa Club [event]?
Sammie: I wasn’t able to.
Yoshi: So basically, that whole, like, I don’t know how to say it, presentation was more or less the nostalgia, the authenticity of Asian foods. My answer is it’s all about the flavor. It doesn’t matter the ingredients you have, yeah there’s certain ingredients that only Asian ingredients can produce, like flavor wise. But other than that it’s like a nostalgia thing, for any Asian when you eat the food, you taste it and it’s like, “Oh my grandpa could’ve eaten that,” or three or four generations ago could have eaten the same thing I am now, memory is what really makes it authentic, you know what I mean? Like nowadays, American Chinese cuisine there’s authenticity there, some people’s grandparents [have] definitely eaten General Tso’s chicken, you know. It’s pretty interesting.
Sammie: So it’s a constantly evolving definition of authenticity to a certain degree.
Yoshi: Of course.
Sammie: So in that case, why Providence? Why open your business in Providence?
Yoshi: Providence was actually the most practical for us because we dealt with some landlords on Newbury Street and Palm Ave. There were really promising locations, the rent was good as well, but there wasn’t that much, like... respect towards us.
Sammie: Interesting.
Yoshi: Because we’re young, you know what I mean. But it’s more like they had a lot of things they wouldn’t help us out with or that we just didn’t meet eye to eye with, in Boston and New York. And New York, they tried to kill us, they asked for, like, a lot of money upfront… that just wasn’t really feasible. But we came here, we’re working with Cornish now their our landlord and they’ve helped us out quite a bit as well through like the whole opening process.
Sammie: So what is the opening process exactly? Especially for young business owners.
Yoshi: Permits, permits, permits, and legal. [laughs] Basically that’s all it really boils down to, you need to work yourself enough to save up that initial start up money where you can form a corporation for yourself and kind of play with the taxes a little bit. Like be an S corporation so that you’re able to take out the profits of the company each year and that’s not taxable.
Sammie: So do you think opening a business is accessible for more potential business owners whether immigrants or people already here?
Yoshi: Accessibility is hard because it takes a lot of… a lot of stamina to open up a restaurant or a business in general. You have to be able to just live it day in and day out, every single day, like 367, 7 days a week. 365!
Sammie: Close enough. Even more!
Yoshi: Yeah even more so, it has to be constantly on your mind. And if you’re not striving for progression to perfection, then you become stagnant and you lose your way.
Sammie: By perfection, do you mean perfection of food, business, [or what]?
Yoshi: Perfection. Just... everything. Once it’s a perfect model, it’s just permeating through culture becoming a real classic in the eyes of the world, essentially. Then, I say that’s perfection.
Sammie: So sort of on that note you mentioned about really true flavors and the accessibility of those flavors as part of your definition of perfection. Do you feel that sometimes maybe American tastes or the taste of Providence versus say New York aren’t quite in line with what you ideally want to do?
Yoshi: No I wouldn’t say that, like we try to make our food as universal as possible so we’re just a really high premium non-chicken noodle soup, you know what I mean. But all the essence of it is… hands down Japanese. But the thing is with the Americanization of Asian food it does get a little difficult with the different taste preferences, but if you can make something taste classic where it’s widely acceptable, like a hamburger. You go anywhere you can get a hamburger and it’s gonna be what you expect it to be.
Sammie: Yeah. Do you feel that‘s kind of diluting the tradition of ramen or sort of broadening it?
Yoshi: It’s evolving it.
Sammie: Evolving it?
Yoshi: Definitely. Like in Japan they have instant noodle packets where it tastes like the freshest of ramens, their technology is crazy at synthesizing flavors but over here in America, it’s gonna grow it. You know, make it more accessible. It’s not really diluting it, it’s just how ramen would evolve in America versus how it evolved in Japan.
Sammie: What are the biggest differences you’ve been finding so far in the American palette versus the Japanese?
Yoshi: Oh, it’s a lot healthier!
Sammie: A lot healthier?
Yoshi: A LOT healthier.
Sammie: That’s really interesting
Yoshi: Americans, like, despite what public opinion is about how we’re the unhealthiest people, there’s been a huge trend where people in America are just trying to become more healthy overall. That really affects the ramen game because, like, traditionally it’s oil, fat, extra heavy soup. It’s extra good for you. Like Yume Wo Katare up in Cambridge, they’re like the perfect example of that heavy jiro style ramen that you can find in Japan. I mean it’s great and all, but it’s not… you wouldn’t be able to eat it like you would a hamburger, like everyday it doesn’t matter. Like “Oh I woke up today, it’s 12 o’clock, [I’m] a student (That’s student time). Alright I could go for some ramen!” You know that would be cool.
Sammie: It’s not too much.
Yoshi: Yeah, it wouldn’t be too much, it wouldn’t be too heavy. It’s just basically a supplement to your life, a lifestyle.
Sammie: How do you feel about instant ramen? You mentioned the one Japan, but I feel like a lot of Americans, they think of those 99 cent little packs that are way too salty.
Yoshi: Definitely. Alright, so I lived on them in college, like everyone does. They’re good in itself, it’s a good little fix.
Sammie: Definitely.
Yoshi: You got 3 minutes, you got ramen.
Sammie: Also, if you’re on a budget.
Yoshi: That’s true. But, like, you can definitely tell the difference. Once Americans who don’t understand the difference just see it and look at the pictures online or even order it in person, they’ll be like this is completely different from what I...
Sammie: Yeah, do you ever get that some Americans have some trepidation or seem overly surprised about what they get with the ramen?
Yoshi: Yeah! I’ve seen some people mindblown, they just told me I’m mindblown, everyday for like my whole life I thought ramen was this little packet food. And it’s like, oh, you guys are just like an extra nice version, you know. But when I ate it you can definitely tell the soups been cooking for 30 plus hours.
Sammie: Yeah that’s absurd.
Yoshi: Yeah.
Sammie: That must be absurdly satisfying for you as a chef and business owner.
Yoshi: Oh, I’m not a chef.
Sammie: Well as a business owner then, with your ultimate goal of perfection.
Yoshi: Definitely.
Sammie: So if you’re not a cook then how do you perfect your recipe?
Yoshi: My business partner, Willie. Yeah, he is a genius when it comes to food. Like, he’s… he grew up traveling the world, his family like to travel a lot so he’s tasted the best stuff everywhere, the most authentic you can get. His flavor profile is so refined that he just makes this all happen.
Sammie: That is awesome. So if he’s so traveled and all that, why ramen?
Yoshi: Actually that’s funny, he met me. [laughs] Originally I wanted to do a ramen shop by myself but I couldn’t ask for help from my dad. Then I met William through my best friend in high school, and it’s just like… we hung out for a little bit, I introduced him to the business and then it just went on from there.
Sammie: And so why did you choose to leave, sort of, the sushi life and go the ramen route?
Yoshi: Oh, sushi is hectic as hell. So hectic. You have to receive new fish every single day and you need to process the fish and it’s… it’s a life dedication. It’s not like a business where you can make it grow through systematic planning, it’s more of like a... you gotta be there like 24/7.
Sammie: That’s awesome. I know you guys are relatively new and all that. How do you feel your reception by the community has been?
Yoshi: I mean we respect the community and they respect us. So there’s that mutual respect and they’ve been showing us some love.
Sammie: That’s awesome! Also, what about your business… when have you been the most proud of it? What is an instance when you thought, “Yeah this is actually coming together and it’s gonna work?”
Yoshi: Probably the first day
Sammie: First day?
Yoshi: When we opened. Our pre-soft opening, customers, any customer like the first ones. Like they looked at the bowl and are a little confused like, “Huh I’ve never really seen it like this before” and then they eat it and once they finish chewing they have that little smile. That is very satisfying, it makes me very happy.
Sammie: Yeah, definitely. I was here yesterday and it was awesome, it was really, really great. It was delicious. And what do you see as your biggest challenge is going forward?
Yoshi: Employees, definitely. We have a lot of student employees so their schedule goes along with the semester and tests then finals come up so they have to drop out.
Sammie: Oh yes.
Yoshi: I don’t know if there’s more applicants than we’ll definitely be willing to help out with that, but that’s probably our biggest challenge right now. Just getting a set amount of people.
Sammie: That totally makes sense. And one final question for the interview. What do you hope for your business in the future? Like, clearly perfection, but how do you get there and what does that entail?
Yoshi: One step at a time.
Sammie: One step at a time?
Yoshi: Definitely, just keeping in mind, do you wanna affect the culture in America so that ramen is like a hamburger? It’s like a national staple. Like Chipotle too.
Sammie: They’ve done a great job with that.
Yoshi: They’ve done a wonderful job. And then Shake Shack right now just went IPO, they’re doing fantastic.
To most college students, ramen means packets of ninety-nine cent instant noodles. A budget friendly, high sodium food, perfect for a late night snack. Just a short walk from campus, on Washington Street, Ken’s Ramen is working to expand the typical American’s limited definition of ramen.
Ken’s Ramen is tiny. Approximately thirty six seats make up the entire restaurant, ten of which are bar seats, but come dinner time it’s always full and has a constant line. The inside is characterized by a minimalist punk style. Skateboard decks line a metal paneled wall, and a large, amusingly baffling portrait of Fred Flintstone with sunglasses hangs in the back. The decor is filled with hidden easter eggs, like a Starwars coffee machine. And, of course, the Ken’s Ramen logo is proudly displayed all around.
The food itself is delicious. Yoshi Kitasato, one of the co-owners of Ken’s, mentioned that when people come in for the first time, especially those who only know instant ramen, he has the pleasure of watching their minds be blown. It’s important to note, however, that due to the long preparation process most of the ramens are not available for lunch, only dinner. The lunch menu includes the Vitality Veggie Ramen, Mazemen (noodles without soup), Tsukemen (noodles with a thick broth on the side for dipping), and a variety of sides, including a popular pork bun.
Yoshi explains that he’s striving for perfection, both in his food and business. He’s constantly tweaking his recipe, working to improve the taste and the experience. He hopes to bring the authentic taste of Japanese ramen, but then evolve it, making ramen as pervasive and accessible, across all peoples and cultures, as, say, the hamburger. Perfection is a hard goal to achieve, but, stepby-step, Ken’s Ramen is on its way.
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