New ramen restaurant will open in Rexburg where people can get a taste of Japan

REXBURG — A new business that’s opening up in Rexburg will let people experience a taste of Japan.

Banzai Ramen is located at 248 South 2nd West, where Kebab Hut used to be.

Owners Asa Hatch, Kjell Jones, and Darren Gealta are looking forward to bringing different flavors to the area and told EastIdahoNews.com that the restaurant will be open soon.

“I want to expand the international food offerings in Rexburg. My kids and my family, all of us love ramen,” Gealta said.

It was Gealta’s idea to bring Banzai Ramen. He wanted it to feel traditional and not like fast food and explained he needed to have people to partner with that he knew would help it succeed.

“I was looking for people who both had a passion about running a business and wanted to help with efficiency,” he said. “Then, I wanted to have someone who was just extremely passionate about the food, the culture, and the culinary experience.”

Jones was a good fit to help the business, and Hatch has experience with food.

Hatch served a church mission in Tokyo, Japan, from 2019 to 2021. He learned from locals how to make specific dishes and also found that he has roots in Okinawa.

“I am super stoked! I think Rexburg is a great place for a lot of culture. I love the thought and the idea of bringing in something that I truly love,” Hatch said.

Hatch told EastIdahoNews.com the menu will mostly consist of ramen, but there will be a few other options, too.

“Each ramen bowl has one of two broths. There is a pork broth, which we call tonkotsu and then there’s the chicken broth and within those, there’s these sauces called tare,” Hatch explained. “So with the broth and the tare, you can probably have eight plus different combinations of different flavors.”

There are sides, too, like potstickers and karaage, which is Japanese-style fried chicken.

Jones said they recently organized a tasting where friends, family, and international students came to try what they had to offer.

“People loved it. Our recipes are nailed down to the point that we’re confident that they’ll do well in this community,” Jones said.

He added that the restaurant has undergone some upgrades, so the inside will look a little different than it previously looked in Kebab Hut.

“There were pretty old tiles in the ceiling that we ripped out, and we painted the walls. We put a new drywall on the ceiling. We’ve really upgraded everything in the restaurant itself,” he said.

They painted a wall red, too, to make it look traditional.

“The red is supposed to be very symbolic of the roots and the heritage of the food and the experience people are supposed to have,” Gealta said.

The idea is to have the restaurant stay open late, with some days closing at 11 p.m. and others at 12 a.m. There are plans in place to set up a video game station for students who want to hang out.

“There will be a TV mounted on the wall. We’ll run video game tournaments here and kind of match the video game culture and the international culture,” Gealta added.

Banzai Ramen will have a soft opening this week. Check out its social media pages for announcements. Gealta says there will be a grand opening the following week.

“My message for people who are considering coming is: it’s just really simple. Rexburg is cold, it’s windy, and ramen is warm and it’s comfortable in here,” Gealta said.