Saying Goodbye
Phenomenal San Antonio ramen bar unexpectedly ships out of Flores Street
Less than a year after transitioning to a full-time restaurant, acclaimed ramen shop Kimura has closed its location inside Freight Gallery & Studios. An employee confirms that July 27 was the last day of business at 1913 S. Flores St.
The news first broke in a July 30 Facebook post. The brief announcement didn’t go into much detail but did assure fans that the downtown location would remain open.
Restaurant Gwendolyn chef Michael Sohocki first opened the downtown Kimura in late 2015 but expanded the concept with two ramen bars after a series of sold-out pop-ups in early 2018.
The Freight shop was preceded by a location at the Cherrity Bar in September 2018. Longtime Gwendolyn group operations manager took over ownership of that outpost in December 2018, rechristening it Kuriya.
Meanwhile, the Freight location — home to the original pop-ups hosted during Southtown’s Second Saturday Artwalk — transitioned to a full-time restaurant in October 2018 with a smaller version of the flagship menu downtown.
It’s unclear why that location failed to take hold. The original Kimura was a phenomenon on arrival and has been lauded as one of San Antonio's best concepts.
The owners only hinted at a reason. “We are very grateful to everyone in the Southtown and San Antonio community who have supported us, but we have decided to focus our efforts on our Kimura Downtown location,” the restaurant said in the post.
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