As one tweeter pointed out yesterday, Izakaya Ramen got more publicity for shutting its doors than it did for being open. A telling remark.
Revolutionary Eating Ventures abruptly closed its noodle shop after some fits and starts in the Japanese food world. REV first got involved over the summer, helping Hideya Ishibishi reinvent Sushi Hiro, one of Charleston’s first sushi bars that had fallen into a slump. They added a grill and started putting out ramen and yakitori dishes in addition to a limited sushi menu.
Then at the end of October, they ditched Hideya and the sushi (an amicable retirement, we were told) and focused on the ramen and izakaya end of things. Obviously that didn’t last long. They closed for business yesterday.
Perhaps it had to do with the lack of soul. Back in June, REV’s Karalee Nielsen was excited about forging into Japanese fare, but promised she wouldn’t be doing it without someone like Hideya to partner with. She indicated that REV was not eager to go into an area where they didn’t have expertise.
When Hideya left, it looked like REV was trying to turn Izakaya Ramen into a full-fledged bar with late night hours, specialty nights, and food deals, but the party has moved way up King Street these days, so it seems like it was a failed experiment.
The question now is, will REV keep the space and put something else in there (we know Nielsen has been working on a Chinese concept for months) or will they let the space go?
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