Kinton Ramen will have two more Vancouver locations open by the end of the month.
The Toronto-based chain, which has outposts of its ramen shops in North Vancouver, Surrey, and UBC, will soon have its Robson Street and Marine Gateway branches officially up and running.
The downtown Vancouver location of Kinton Ramen was announced last fall and is now in its "soft open" phase. The restaurant, located at 420 Robson St, will officially welcome guests into its new 28-seat restaurant on its Grand Opening Day, Friday, April 12 beginning at 11 a.m. For that one day only, Kinton Ramen on Robson will offer 50 per cent off all dine-in ramen.
On Robson, Kinton is replacing the Hubbub sandwich shop which closed in early 2023 after struggling since the pandemic.
Down in South Vancouver at the Marine Gateway complex at 434 SW Marine Dr. signs declaring Kinton Ramen is "coming soon" have been up for some time.
There, at the transit hub, Kinton is replacing Pink Elephant Thai which had been in that spot for several years. The Pink Elephant, which is part of the Thai House restaurant group, has moved to 5601 Dunbar St. It closed its doors at Marine Gateway on Nov. 11.
Kinton’s Marine Gateway location is expected to open later in April and will offer seating for 38 guests as well as take-out and delivery daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
“We look forward to serving people happiness in our two new locations on Robson Street and Marine Gateway this spring," said James Kim. Kim is the founder and CEO of Kinton's parent company, Kinka Family.
Kinton, which has won multiple awards in Toronto's food scene over the last few years, features pork, chicken, beef, and vegetarian ramen with a variety of toppings. They also offer a few sides like kimchi, gyoza, and donburi on the menu.
The chain, which opened its first location in 2012, also has locations in Montreal, Chicago, and a small town in New York State. The UBC location opened in 2020, while the other two Metro Vancouver Kinton Ramen shops opened in 2023.
With files from Brendan Kergin
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