Ippudo
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Ippudo, also known as Hakata Ippūdo (博多一風堂) in Japan, is a Japanese ramen restaurant chain.
History
Ippudo was first started in Fukuoka, Fukuoka by Shigemi Kawahara, the CEO of Chikaranomoto Company. "Ippudo" in direct translation means one wind hall, and this is named because at the time, there were dark clouds over the Kyushu Ramen industry, and the founder CEO Kawahara intended to "blow wind and revolutionise the era".
The first restaurant opened in 1985, in the Daimyo District of Chuo Ward, in Fukuoka City. Gradually the number of restaurants expanded from regional areas to the whole of Japan, mainly in the Kanto and Kansai regions. In the year 2000 as a tie-up with Seven Eleven a cup noodle version was made (Nissin Foods).
In 2008 the first overseas restaurant opened in New York City. In 2009 a restaurant was opened in Hotel Meritus Mandarin Singapore in Singapore. It plans to expand its enterprise in to European areas.
Locations
There are 44 Ippudo restaurants throughout Japan. Ippudo also has one outlet in New York City, and two outlets in Singapore.