Hungry Lower Haight diners have grown accustomed to the weekly presence of Hapa Ramen, which has become a Tuesday night fixture at at the chicken outlet Wing Wings. Tonight, Hapa Ramen owner Richie Nakano bids adieu to the Lower Haight with his final Wing Wings pop-up, leaving a ramen-shaped hole in the neighborhood dining scene.
After popping up at Wing Wings (and Coffee Bar and Bar Tartine before it), Nakano is moving his business to a brick-and-mortar location at 2293 Mission (at 19th). Though he'll continue to sling noodles at the Ferry Building stand known for its clever and topical menu boards, the era of noodle pop-ups in the neighborhood is coming to a close.
We caught up with the busy Nakano for a mini-interview about his time in the Lower Haight:
"Christian [Ciscle] invited us to come do it. He's an amazing supporter of the SF food community in a grassroots way and he took a chance on us."
How and when did the idea evolve into a regular weekly thing?
"Basically if he had room for us and we weren't busy we would be in there. Mostly it would just be a text from Christian that would say 'pop up?'"
What did you learn from the pop-up about opening a brick-and-mortar?
"If you make people feel like they're part of the party rather than just another customer, they will come back again and again."
How would you describe your Lower Haight experience?
"I love that neighborhood. The nice people at Maven took care of us a lot, and every time we closed down Wing Wings we got to do it to muffled drum 'n' bass from the club next door. The people were really nice."
What are your favorite Lower Haight spots when you're off work?
"Toronado and Wing Wings are my two favorites."
What's on the menu for your final Wing Wings pop-up?
"It's a secret for now, but it's a ramen we've never done and that people have been asking for since we started."
The final neighborhood pop-up runs from 6pm-10pm tonight, so stop by to say hello, goodbye, and 'thanks for the memories' to Nakano and his crew.
The new Hapa Ramen location in the Mission is set to debut in October. In the meantime, you can catch Nakano at his new side gig as the host of the weekly Chefs Feed video series "The Week in Stupid Food News".
