Ippudo

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's East Village, while there are plans for another location in Midtown West. In 2009 a restaurant was opened in the Mandarin Gallery section of Singapore's 5-star Mandarin Orchard Singapore hotel, while a second restaurant, Ippudo Tao, was opened later within UE Square Shopping Mall.

Locations

There are 44 Ippudo restaurants throughout Japan. Ippudo also has one outlet in New York City, and two outlets in Singapore.

External links

• Ippudo Japan
• Ippudo NYC
• Ippudo Singapore