Soup for thought

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This article was published 25/02/2025 (196 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To a growing restaurant chain, Winnipeg has an attractive offering: plenty of ramen weather.

And so, late last week, Kinton Ramen opened near the Seasons outlet mall. Staff served bowls of warm broth and noodles as the temperature neared -30 C with the wind chill.

“It’s been great so far,” said Samantha Chong, franchise specialist with Kinton Ramen’s parent company, Kinka Family.

Customers filed in during their lunch breaks Friday. Kat Mao recognized the restaurant name — she tried the place in Toronto — and stopped by. She had a good experience years ago, Mao said, so she ordered the same pork dish.

Winnipeg marks Kinton Ramen’s 43rd Canadian location and the 19th run by a franchisee.

Karalyn White has watched the Kinton Ramen brand grow “tremendously.”

“When people come to Toronto or Montreal or Vancouver and try the product, they really want to bring it to their hometown,” said White, Kinka Family senior director of franchising development. “We are very fortunate that we’re able to expand like we do.”

Kinton Ramen started in Toronto 13 years ago. The chain was already steadily expanding when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, White said.

It was poised to open a Vancouver hub, joining roughly 20 outposts in Ontario and Montreal. However, Kinton staff couldn’t reach the city.

Franchising became a gleaming solution; Vancouver became the chain’s first franchisee-led operation.

“It worked out so great,” White said.

She’s watched the franchise pool grow to 19 sites from two over the past three years. Another location, in Calgary, is set to open before the end of February.

There’s little variation between the Japanese restaurants to keep consistency, both White and Chong noted. The pork original bowl — filled with bamboo shoots and nori — tends to be the most popular.

A yellow neon sign glowing “A Bowl of Happiness!” is a staple.

The phrase is found printed at the bottom of some Kinton Ramen bowls. Customers who slurp their way to the bottom join the Kinton Bowlers, a loyalty program where bowls finished lead to stamps, eventually leading to prizes.

One Toronto customer hit 1,000 stamps, Chong recalled. They got a $1,000 gift card to Kinton Ramen. (Smaller prizes include 10-piece gyoza coupons and towels.)

“It’s a good loyalty program,” said Chong, who visited Winnipeg to help with the launch.

Chong travels to sites where Kinton Ramen doesn’t have an area representative. Places like British Columbia have enough locations to warrant their own area rep; Winnipeg is on a path to get its own, Chong shared.

“We’re definitely looking for our second location already,” White said, adding Kinton Ramen will monitor the reception of its first spot.

Opening four ramen shops in the city isn’t off the table, White noted. Kinton Ramen also plans to expand into Saskatchewan. The chain has 18 new locations pending this year and at least 18 more set for 2026.

“Ramen is a desired food right now,” White said. “We’re expecting (the Winnipeg location) to be fairly busy.”

A bowl typically ranges from $16 to $18. A meal for two — an appetizer, two drinks and two ramen bowls — starts at $42.

Nathan Tamio joined friends at Kinton Ramen during his lunch break Friday.

“It didn’t take too long, which is good,” he said over a bowl of pork shoyu ramen. “A lot of us like soup.”

Kinton Ramen is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily during its “soft opening.” A grand opening date is yet to be determined, White said. The site will be able to seat up to 70 people once its patio opens.

Kinka Izakaya, a Japanese tapas restaurant, and fine dining hub JaBistro are Kinton Ramen’s sister companies. The ramen shop has one location in the United States: New York City.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com