Kyuramen Group is not just adding another drink to the menu; it is buying the whole matcha bar. The fast‑growing ramen chain has acquired Aokō Matcha, the West Village matcha gelato café with a devoted social media following, and plans to grow the concept to roughly 30 locations across the United States. The deal links Aokō’s curated “five‑shade” matcha tasting format with Kyuramen’s expanding restaurant network, which could mean matcha flights both in standalone cafés and at compact counters tucked inside existing Kyuramen spots.
According to the New York Business Journal, Kyuramen intends to roll out about 30 Aokō locations nationwide using a mix of independent cafés and co‑located units inside its ramen restaurants. The outlet frames the acquisition as part of a broader strategy that marries quick‑serve dining with dedicated beverage and dessert concepts.
Kyuramen's growth play
Kyuramen has been in expansion mode for a while. The chain’s official site lists more than 120 U.S. locations with a footprint that stretches across multiple regions. Kyuramen's website and recent local coverage show the brand pairing ramen service with tea and boba counters under one roof, a setup that lets operators add new concepts without taking on fresh real estate from scratch. That playbook appears to be the model Kyuramen will use to scale Aokō quickly.
Aokō’s matcha moment
Aokō Matcha opened last year in Manhattan’s West Village as a gelato‑centric matcha tasting room built around a five‑shade progression of matcha intensity, a format that generated early praise and plenty of social buzz. Time Out spotlighted the opening, calling out Aokō’s matcha flights and soft‑serve versions and noting how the concept manages to hook both matcha newcomers and serious fans. Kyuramen is effectively buying into that clean, visual tasting format and the specialty beverage crowd Aokō has already attracted.
Where you'll find it now
Beyond the original Bleecker Street shop, the concept has already been tested in other markets, and the New York Business Journal reports that Aokō has opened outposts in Bayside, Queens and Cherry Hill, New Jersey as part of its early footprint. Local business listings and customer posts show a Bayside location operating next to a Kyuramen outpost, which suggests the co‑location model is already in trial. Local listings capture the Bayside address along with reviews from recent soft openings.
Why chains are adding matcha
The move fits a wider pattern in quick‑service dining, where chains are layering in beverage and dessert brands to boost traffic and average checks, especially with younger customers. Restaurant Dive has tracked similar rollouts in which tested drink concepts graduate from pilot programs to dozens of locations once they prove they can move the needle. For neighborhoods, that can translate into more cross‑traffic in a single storefront, with ramen diners grabbing matcha gelato on the way out and matcha loyalists sticking around to try a new noodle bowl.
For New York diners, the most immediate shift is likely to be a deeper matcha menu appearing near Kyuramen counters. For the broader restaurant industry, the deal is another example of dessert and drink concepts being folded into larger chains. Hoodline will keep an eye on announcements around the first Aokō openings under Kyuramen and will report back when locations and menus are confirmed.
