Tatsu Aikawa, who came to Austin as a cultural exchange student from Tokyo, lived in a hippy commune and skated with the hipsters on The Drag. About thirty-five years later, Aikawa is getting ready to establish the eighth site of Ramen Tatsu-Ya, his well-known ramen restaurant, on the same street where he grew up.
The store Aikawa calls Little Ramen Tatsu-Ya is tucked away on The Drag and is less than 1,000 square feet. It showcases distinctive designs and artwork that honor the meeting point of Aikawa’s Japanese and Austin ancestry. The new site will open this fall and offer exclusive deals and a restricted menu.
“It has never been a dull moment since I opened my first location in 2012,” Aikawa remarked. Sharing a bit of my culture with everyone makes me happy. It’s always thrilling.
Aikawa mentioned a connection between The Drag and his name in addition to the personal connection he claimed to have with the place.
According to Aikawa, my name means “dragon” in Japanese. Since The Drag is short for dragon, Tatsu-ya, which means “a house of dragon,” worked out.
Aikawa drew a dragon motif to fit the outside in honor of this link. According to artist and UT alumnus Michael Sieben (BFA Studio Art, 99), he collaborated with Show Goat Mural Works and Ion Art to realize the three-dimensional design.
Sieben stated that Aikawa requested to see a dragon’s head at the order window. It’s almost like ordering noodles directly out of the dragon’s mouth because he wanted fangs to surround it.
As a former UT student, Sieben, who has worked on previous Ramen Tatsu-Ya sites, said this restaurant also had personal meaning for him.
According to Sieben, it’s exactly adjacent to where I would get off the bus on my way to UT. Since I attended college there, I think it’s incredible to be able to accomplish something so visible in that community. I feel incredibly honored to be further advanced in my artistic career than I was when I was twenty.
The store’s design is the work of Austin-based Kim Lewis Designs in addition to Sieben’s artwork. Kim Lewis, the director and founder, said she considers herself fortunate to have a client with such a vivid imagination.
According to Lewis, Tatsu is a lot of fun, inventive, and interesting to work with since he truly cares about the experience as much as his food. Although it feels similar, the energy at each of his places is really distinct. Every one of them has a vein that runs through it.
This store felt like a homecoming, according to Caroline St. Clergy (Interior Design, 23), a UT alumnus and designer at Kim Lewis who assisted in spearheading the project.
According to St. Clergy, it’s unreal to be back on campus in a new setting and adding to the community’s real fiber.
Lewis and St. Clergy stated that they have been working on Little Ramen Tatsu-Ya for a long time and are eager for the public to see the area.
The Drag is incredibly famous. “To be honest, it’s such an honor to have to create something that deserves to be on The Drag,” Lewis remarked. I adore how Austin continues to value these creative moments and how ingrained they are in both the city’s and its students’ cultures.
