One couldn’t ask for better timing. Just as a drop in temperature had everyone in San Antonio craving soup, the newest location of Ramen Bar stepped in to give the people what they want.

A restaurant representative confirmed to CultureMap that the second location of the beloved noodle shop opened October 9 at Freight Gallery & Studios at 1913 S. Flores St. The new outpost is operating with limited soft opening hours until the grand opening celebration on October 13.

The artsy eatery is a mini version of Kimura, the lauded Japanese restaurant from Restaurant Gwendolyn chef and owner Michael Sohocki. The restaurateur first tested the concept with a series of pop-ups in the spring during Southtown’s Second Saturday Artwalk.

Although the Freight shop was slated to debut as early as April, it was beat to the punch by the September opening of the first Ramen Bar inside Cherrity Bar. The rep says that much of that menu, created by chef and Gwendolyn group operations manager Ernie Bradley, will carry over to the new space.

The main focus is, of course, the noodles, which is available in vegan miso, shoyu (chicken and soy), and tonkotsu (pork bone) broths. A variety of add-ons, including shiitake mushroom, ajitsuke tamago (soft boiled marinated egg), shoga yaki (ginger pork), and shishito pepper allow customers to customize their own bowl.

Although the menu is still being tinkered with, the rep hinted that the two location’s offerings eventually won’t be entirely identical. The restaurant group allows each location’s general manager — in this case Victor Cortez — plenty of leeway in further developing the concept.

The new eatery also has an entirely different look. Instead of being greeted with roughly hewn wood walls and a sprawling patio, diners encounter skylights and stark white walls hung with rotating exhibitions of colorful artwork.

Once fully operating, Ramen Bar at Freight will be open on Tuesday through Thursday, 5-10 pm and Friday and Saturday 5-11 pm.