The glorious third highest ranked ramen restaurant in LA
By Keiko Fukuda
The ranking contest, “Los Angeles ramen top-10” in the LA Weekly magazine in 2013 awarded Umenoya in Torrance as No. 3. The article read, “You don’t hear the typical loud vibrant greeting as many ramen restaurants here, but you can taste all their efforts in making a bowl of ramen”.
It has been 4 years since the article was published. After gaining new customers triggered by the LA Weekly ranking, Umenoya has been running very successfully, mainly supported by the local customers. I asked Mayumi Kohagura, the manager, what they do specifically to increase repeating customers.
“The space is limited, so in order to increase rotations, we serve as quickly as possible. We cannot do much about shortening the time of customers who are waiting to be seated, but we try to serve hot dishes as quickly as possible after receiving orders by training our staff for it. Another key point is to try to maintain the same taste. Of course, we do make slight changes to improve tastes, however, we strive for serving consistent tasting ramen as much as possible.”
In order to maintain the consistent service and taste, Mayumi is present in the restaurant every day. She says, “Not only do we try to keep the same taste, I also watch out for the consistency in the presentation so it matches the explanations in the menu. My motto is to serve a bowl that satisfies each customer at every visit.”
Surprisingly, the restaurant does not close until 3 after midnight. Not only are they accommodating people who want to eat ramen that late in the day, which makes this restaurant very important for them, but there are also other firm reasons or needs to run until that late according to Mayumi. Many regular customers work in different shifts for a huge hospital called Torrance Memorial which is only a few blocks away. They want to come to the restaurant after the graveyard shift.
The restaurant is not open for lunch except for weekends due to shortage of staff. There are 8 in the kitchen, and 6 in the front serving, however not everyone is working exclusively for Umenoya. Mayumi continues, “The biggest problem is how to keep the number of staff. This restaurant originally opened as a fast-food restaurant, and we cannot apply for a liquor license. We had a plan to open a second restaurant in Long Beach where alcohol beverages can be served, but we had to give up due to a trouble with the lease.
How about the menu? It has indeed a wide variety of items! On top of regular flavors such as Tonkotsu, Miso, Shoyu, Shio, and Spicy Miso, there is a kind called Jiro Ramen, which is made specifically to satisfy lighter taste fans. In the summer period, they add cold ramen to the menu. I myself prefer tonkotsu flavor, but it is an excellent point that there are many choices. For instance, if I bring my son who prefers miso flavor, or my daughter who prefers shoyu, the restaurant can accommodate all of us. All our favorites are listed on the menu. Mayumi says that they receive an equal number of orders of different flavors.
Yasunori Aoki, the sub-manager, who is in charge of the development of the menu, told me about his aspiration for the future. “As for the taste, I would like to keep introducing something new to make the restaurant stand out. For example, I want to discover something that exists in Japan, but not in Los Angeles, and then arrange it to suit the local area here, and make it a new popular menu item. I would like to keep making studious efforts in developing the menu.”
LAのラーメン店３位に輝く
2013年のLA Weeklyの「ロサンゼルスのラーメン・トップ10」のランキングで、堂々３位に選出されたのが、トーランスのUmenoyaだ。その記事には「ラーメン屋によくある威勢のいい掛け声をこの店で聞くことはできないが、すべての労力を１杯のラーメンに注ぎ込んでいるにちがいない」とある。
あれから４年。LA Weeklyのランキングを契機に新たな顧客を獲得した後、今もローカル客を中心に盛業を続けている。マネージャーの古波蔵（こはぐら）眞由美さんに、リピーターを増やす工夫について聞いた。
「狭い店なので回転率を上げるために、注文を受けたらすぐに出すことを徹底しています。席に着くまでにお待ち頂くのはある程度仕方ないですが、注文の後はすぐに熱々を食べていただけるようにスタッフを教育しています。それから味を変えないこと。もちろん、味の改善という意味では多少の進化もありますが、極力、安定した味のラーメンを提供するように心がけています」
サービスと味の安定のためにも、眞由美さんは毎日、店に出ている。「味のブレがないように、またメニューと変わりない盛り付けにも気をくばっています。お客様が来店されるたびにご満足いただける１杯を提供していきたいということがモットーです」
同店の営業時間はなんと深夜３時まで。その時間にラーメンを食べたいと思う人にとっては貴重な存在だが、それ以外にもしっかりとした深夜営業のニーズが存在すると眞由美さんは語る。数ブロック先には大規模な病院トーランスメモリアル・ホスピタルがあり、シフト制の勤務を終えた従業員たちが常連客でもあるのだそうだ。
ただし、人手不足が理由で、週末を除き、ランチは営業していない。キッチンには８人、サーバーは６人いるが、全員がUmenoya専業というわけではない。「人材の確保が一番の悩みの種です。また、この店はもともとファストフード店だった設計上、アルコールのライセンスを申請できません。そこで近郊のロングビーチにアルコールも提供できる２号店を出す計画が進んでいたのですが、 リース契約上のトラブルにより断念しました」
さて、肝心のメニューはと言うと、実にバラエティ豊かだ。豚骨、味噌、醤油、塩、スパイシー味噌にあっさり味に改良した次郎ラーメンまで揃う。夏には冷やし中華も仲間入りする。筆者個人は豚骨ラーメンのファンだが、味噌ラーメン好きの息子や醤油ラーメン好きの娘と来ても、それらがすべてメニューに並んでいるという時点ですでにポイントが高い。眞由美さんに聞けば「どのラーメンも満遍なく注文が入ります」とのこと。
メニュー開発を手がけるサブマネージャーの青木康則さんは「味に関しては、常に新しいものを発信して尖った店にしたいですね。例えば日本にあるのにロサンゼルスにないものを発見して、それをこちら向けにアレンジして人気メニューに育てるなど、常に努力を怠りなく取り組んでいきたいです」と抱負を語ってくれた。
Umenoya
24222 Crenshaw Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90505
(310)530-3177
Monday,Wednesday-Friday:5:30pm-3:00am
Saturday: 12:00pm-3:00am
Sunday: 12:00pm-11:00pm
Closed on Tuesday
The ranking contest, “Los Angeles ramen top-10” in the LA Weekly magazine in 2013 awarded Umenoya in Torrance as No. 3. The article read, “You don’t hear the typical loud vibrant greeting as many ramen restaurants here, but you can taste all their efforts in making a bowl of ramen”.
It has been 4 years since the article was published. After gaining new customers triggered by the LA Weekly ranking, Umenoya has been running very successfully, mainly supported by the local customers. I asked Mayumi Kohagura, the manager, what they do specifically to increase repeating customers.
“The space is limited, so in order to increase rotations, we serve as quickly as possible. We cannot do much about shortening the time of customers who are waiting to be seated, but we try to serve hot dishes as quickly as possible after receiving orders by training our staff for it. Another key point is to try to maintain the same taste. Of course, we do make slight changes to improve tastes, however, we strive for serving consistent tasting ramen as much as possible.”
In order to maintain the consistent service and taste, Mayumi is present in the restaurant every day. She says, “Not only do we try to keep the same taste, I also watch out for the consistency in the presentation so it matches the explanations in the menu. My motto is to serve a bowl that satisfies each customer at every visit.”
Surprisingly, the restaurant does not close until 3 after midnight. Not only are they accommodating people who want to eat ramen that late in the day, which makes this restaurant very important for them, but there are also other firm reasons or needs to run until that late according to Mayumi. Many regular customers work in different shifts for a huge hospital called Torrance Memorial which is only a few blocks away. They want to come to the restaurant after the graveyard shift.
The restaurant is not open for lunch except for weekends due to shortage of staff. There are 8 in the kitchen, and 6 in the front serving, however not everyone is working exclusively for Umenoya. Mayumi continues, “The biggest problem is how to keep the number of staff. This restaurant originally opened as a fast-food restaurant, and we cannot apply for a liquor license. We had a plan to open a second restaurant in Long Beach where alcohol beverages can be served, but we had to give up due to a trouble with the lease.
How about the menu? It has indeed a wide variety of items! On top of regular flavors such as Tonkotsu, Miso, Shoyu, Shio, and Spicy Miso, there is a kind called Jiro Ramen, which is made specifically to satisfy lighter taste fans. In the summer period, they add cold ramen to the menu. I myself prefer tonkotsu flavor, but it is an excellent point that there are many choices. For instance, if I bring my son who prefers miso flavor, or my daughter who prefers shoyu, the restaurant can accommodate all of us. All our favorites are listed on the menu. Mayumi says that they receive an equal number of orders of different flavors.
Yasunori Aoki, the sub-manager, who is in charge of the development of the menu, told me about his aspiration for the future. “As for the taste, I would like to keep introducing something new to make the restaurant stand out. For example, I want to discover something that exists in Japan, but not in Los Angeles, and then arrange it to suit the local area here, and make it a new popular menu item. I would like to keep making studious efforts in developing the menu.”
LAのラーメン店３位に輝く
2013年のLA Weeklyの「ロサンゼルスのラーメン・トップ10」のランキングで、堂々３位に選出されたのが、トーランスのUmenoyaだ。その記事には「ラーメン屋によくある威勢のいい掛け声をこの店で聞くことはできないが、すべての労力を１杯のラーメンに注ぎ込んでいるにちがいない」とある。
あれから４年。LA Weeklyのランキングを契機に新たな顧客を獲得した後、今もローカル客を中心に盛業を続けている。マネージャーの古波蔵（こはぐら）眞由美さんに、リピーターを増やす工夫について聞いた。
「狭い店なので回転率を上げるために、注文を受けたらすぐに出すことを徹底しています。席に着くまでにお待ち頂くのはある程度仕方ないですが、注文の後はすぐに熱々を食べていただけるようにスタッフを教育しています。それから味を変えないこと。もちろん、味の改善という意味では多少の進化もありますが、極力、安定した味のラーメンを提供するように心がけています」
サービスと味の安定のためにも、眞由美さんは毎日、店に出ている。「味のブレがないように、またメニューと変わりない盛り付けにも気をくばっています。お客様が来店されるたびにご満足いただける１杯を提供していきたいということがモットーです」
同店の営業時間はなんと深夜３時まで。その時間にラーメンを食べたいと思う人にとっては貴重な存在だが、それ以外にもしっかりとした深夜営業のニーズが存在すると眞由美さんは語る。数ブロック先には大規模な病院トーランスメモリアル・ホスピタルがあり、シフト制の勤務を終えた従業員たちが常連客でもあるのだそうだ。
ただし、人手不足が理由で、週末を除き、ランチは営業していない。キッチンには８人、サーバーは６人いるが、全員がUmenoya専業というわけではない。「人材の確保が一番の悩みの種です。また、この店はもともとファストフード店だった設計上、アルコールのライセンスを申請できません。そこで近郊のロングビーチにアルコールも提供できる２号店を出す計画が進んでいたのですが、 リース契約上のトラブルにより断念しました」
さて、肝心のメニューはと言うと、実にバラエティ豊かだ。豚骨、味噌、醤油、塩、スパイシー味噌にあっさり味に改良した次郎ラーメンまで揃う。夏には冷やし中華も仲間入りする。筆者個人は豚骨ラーメンのファンだが、味噌ラーメン好きの息子や醤油ラーメン好きの娘と来ても、それらがすべてメニューに並んでいるという時点ですでにポイントが高い。眞由美さんに聞けば「どのラーメンも満遍なく注文が入ります」とのこと。
メニュー開発を手がけるサブマネージャーの青木康則さんは「味に関しては、常に新しいものを発信して尖った店にしたいですね。例えば日本にあるのにロサンゼルスにないものを発見して、それをこちら向けにアレンジして人気メニューに育てるなど、常に努力を怠りなく取り組んでいきたいです」と抱負を語ってくれた。
Umenoya
24222 Crenshaw Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90505
(310)530-3177
Monday,Wednesday-Friday:5:30pm-3:00am
Saturday: 12:00pm-3:00am
Sunday: 12:00pm-11:00pm
Closed on Tuesday