The end of one long-running sushi legacy in downtown Vancouver has come, but with it also brings the start of a new ramen venture.

The end of one long-running sushi legacy in downtown Vancouver has come, but with it also brings the start of a new ramen venture.

Pender Street's Kyzock (known for many years as Zero One Sushi) closed up shop at the end of February, but the owners have moved on to open Ramen Taka in what's called the "Robson Ramen District" of Vancouver.





Kyzock, known for it's sushi bowls, opened at 559 West Pender in 2001. Last month, they posted their farewell message on Facebook:

"It's a mix feeling that we have to say goodbye to our customers who loved Kyzock,Zero One Sushi for many years," the operators write. "For the last 17 years since year 2001, we had good times and hard times. It was such great times we share those years with our nice and super great customers. We have no words to say more than thank you to all of you."

So while many downtowners lost a favourite sushi haunt, there's great news for noodle fans. Ramen Taka has taken over the vacated Ramenman space at 841 Bidwell Street.

Ramen Taka, short for Takanotsume, is ramen from Japan's Asahikawa Hokkaido. Ramen from this region is known for its slightly oily shoyu broth. Actually, ramen is such a big deal in this area that not only is there a "Ramen Village" of eight ramen shops in Asahikawa, but they are also situated near a ramen shrine.

Vancouver's Ramen Taka is the first outpost of the restaurant outside of Japan. The operators say it "is one of the most popular Ramen Restaurant in Asahikawa City Hokkaido where is the best competitive market in Japan."

Ramen Taka's ramen includes Dragon's Dewdrop Shoyu Ramen, Supreme Dragon Miso Ramen, Dynamite Pork Spicy Ramen, and even a Vegan Miso Ramen. The restaurant went into soft open mode on March 18, and expects to be in that phase for the rest of the week, open for business until, as they say, the broth runs out.