Ramen: The Language Barrier

Japanese Noodles, or windows and Doors?

What do you do when your star product shares its name with an architectural element

Way back in 2013, when our Founder & CEO Guy Quirynen opened our first location in Flagey, the word ‘ramen’ had a decidedly different connotation in Belgium than it does now in 2020.

Rather than conjuring images of an open kitchen, steaming bowls of savory noodle soup, or delicious marinated eggs, ‘ramen’ was almost always followed by another two words: ‘en deuren’. For those who aren’t fluent in Dutch, ‘ramen en deuren’ are ‘windows and doors’, and many stores in Belgium specialise in exactly that while serving the large demand for custom homes. This coincidence makes Google search optimisation difficult for any restaurant serving ramen noodles!

It was certainly more difficult to break into a new market when our star product shares its name with an essential part of a house! And so began our effort to give a fresh context to the word ‘ramen’ and add it to the vocabulary of our fledgling community in Flagey. Bit by bit, with word of mouth, our reputation at Flagey grew and with each new restaurant we increased awareness for this second definition of ramen. As we’ve grown up many more ramen shops have opened, creating a larger desire - and greater awareness! - for our most favourite Japanese meal.

Alongside each customer who experienced ramen noodles for the first time there was a one who was already familiar with the dish, and who shared in our excitement about Japanese food culture.
 

And in our honest opinion, our definition of ramen is a lot tastier!