Okiboru, a Los Angeles ramen shop that yesterday was crowned a 2019 Michelin Guide California Bib Gourmand restaurant, is expanding to Sandy Springs later this year.
It will open in the Modera development, at 6125 Roswell Road, Eater Atlanta Wednesday first reported.
Co-Owner Sean Park confirmed the news in a telephone interview with What Now Atlanta.
“Our intention has always been to open Okiboru in Atlanta, even before LA,” Park said.
“We couldn’t find a location that we liked initially, so we kept searching the Atlanta area while we were operating in LA.”
Okiboru is known for its tsukemen (dipping ramen) and, to the best of Park’s knowledge, is the only restaurant in the United States that makes its own noodles for the dish.
The chef, who perfected his ramen recipes through a combination of training in Japan and “trial and error,” will be in the Modera kitchen cooking.
“I’m very hands on so I’ll be there,” Park said.
“Cooking ramen is teachable but there’s definitely a learning curve.”
The menu will be the same as Okiboru Los Angeles with the addition of new appetizers and a few yet-to-be-announced dishes.
“I’m not a fan of a large menu,” Park said.
“We try to keep things simple with a focused-menu as we make everything from scratch.”
Park currently lives in Atlanta but is constantly in Los Angeles and in Asheville where he co-owns Blue Dream Curry House.
He signed the Modera lease last month and is aiming to debut the “modern, yet comfortable” restaurant before the end of the year.
It joins M District, Casa Cielo, and F45 Fitness in the development.
Okiboru, which is Japanse for “big bowl,” debuted on the west coast in July 2018.
