Ramen Tatsu-Ya is opening its third Houston-area restaurant on Halloween, landing in Bellaire at 4672 Beechnut St. with free T-shirts, a year-of-free-ramen raffle and a DJ spinning during dinner hours. The grand opening kicks off at 11 a.m. on October 31, and the first 25 guests through the door will walk away with a limited-edition T-shirt.
A Bellaire Debut Packed With Halloween Perks
The new shop sits in the former Boston Market space, according to CultureMap Houston, and marks the chain's third location in the city. Beyond the T-shirt giveaway, attendees can enter a drawing for free ramen for a year, as reported by Houston Press. Guests who show up in costume will get a free popsicle with purchase, and the restaurant also plans to hand out Halloween treats to trick-or-treaters who stop by, per the same outlet. A live DJ is scheduled to play from 6 to 8 p.m. for dinner guests, rounding out what's shaping up to be a full day of festivities at the new address.
Todd Coerver said Ramen Tatsu-Ya is excited to bring a new location to the Bellaire area, adding that the Halloween timing of the grand opening offers a chance to increase the fun, according to Community Impact. The Bellaire shop is the brand's third in the Houston area, following its first Houston expansion in February 2017.
Broth That Takes Up to Three Days to Build
What's drawing people to Ramen Tatsu-Ya in the first place is the kitchen's commitment to slow-cooked broth. CultureMap Houston notes the chain's signature tonkotsu broth takes up to three days to prepare, while the menu's scratch-made options extend to a 60-hour pork bone broth, chicken shoyu and two different vegetarian almond milk tonkotsu versions, per the Houston Press report. Community Impact separately notes it takes 60 hours to make each batch of broth, underscoring just how much prep goes into every bowl before it reaches a table.
The food menu stretches well past noodles. Munchies include pork gyoza, chicken karaage, rice bowls and katsu sliders, the Houston Press reports. Community Impact reports edamame and a range of toppings like beni shoga, goma pork, tofu, nori and brussels sprouts.
From a Single Austin Shop to a Growing Texas Chain
Ramen Tatsu-Ya traces back to 2012, when chefs Tatsu Aikawa and Takuya Matsumoto opened the original location in Austin, according to CultureMap Houston. Aikawa, who grew up in Japan and trained at Urasawa — a Michelin-starred kaiseki and sushi bar in Los Angeles — went on to open six additional locations in Austin. Sources differ on the brand's current Austin count: CultureMap Houston puts it at six Austin shops and two in Houston before the Bellaire opening, while the Houston Press reports the owner operates seven Austin locations plus two in Houston.
The chain has kept up a steady pace of openings in recent years. Its Round Rock location, the company's seventh in Texas at the time, opened June 2, 2024, with a month-long raffle for a year of free ramen, according to a news release on Ramen Tatsu-ya's website. The company later announced a second Houston shop at Town & Country Village in Memorial City for late 2025, framing it as part of an expansion streak that began with the Round Rock debut. Back in July 2022, the brand had also flagged plans for a fifth Austin-area shop in far South Austin and a Cedar Park location at Lakeline Market, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
With the Bellaire shop now set to open its doors on Halloween, Ramen Tatsu-Ya is betting that free T-shirts, a shot at a year of ramen and a DJ set will draw a crowd to Beechnut Street right alongside trick-or-treaters making their rounds.
